Two of a Kind

“I didn’t order this!” Paige Worthington said her fingers pushing back the plate the waiter had slid in front of her, her eyes never diverting from her book.

“No I did actually,” came the feminine response from the other side of her small café table along with the scent of a delicious perfume.

 “Oh please don’t get up on my account, neither of us needs to stand on ceremony I’m sure, but by way of an ice breaker I’ll go first.  Tracey Hale a please to make your acquaintance Paige, one hears and reads a great deal about you in the circles I travel in.  Speaking of reading what’s so engrossing that it failed to draw your nose out of that book and inhale this delicious creation, they really are famous here for their cheesecake, but apparently not impressive enough for you?”

 “Quantum Switch Functions in Theoretic Isolinear Circuits; I must have missed that when it was on The Times best seller list!  Well if the cheesecake can’t tempt you perhaps another pot of tea, Earl Grey if I'm not mistaken, one of my favourites as well and I do believe its Yorkshire Tea Company Earl Grey.  Another pot and another cup and saucer if you please,” Tracey said turning to the waiter with a smile that would melt any recalcitrant servers heart. 

Paige knew full well who this woman was, although still new to her profession, she knew her opposition well, especially the curvy full figured ones!  She scanned the woman top to bottom and Tracey willingly obliged stepped back to allow Paige a complete view.  Her black almost shoulder length hair was straight, but with the merest a sassy waves to it at the end,  she wore a beautiful white skirt and matching jacket, clearly of the highest quality and custom made, the skirt cut at the perfect spot, the top of her knee’s, giving all who looked the exposure to her magnificently shapely calves!

Tracey had chosen the perfect of matching white heels, not too thin or too high, but eye catching and holding!  Her underpinned skirt was flawlessly executed allowing the follower a tantalising outline of her taut round ass that the spy just knew she moved with a hypnotising grace.   A final turn and Paige focused on the forest green silk blouse, the way it hugged her firm stomach before opening just enough to allow her ample breasts to heave the fabric outward in a grace line, the neck open enough to afford glances at her décolletage.  She finished the ensemble with a pearl necklace and earrings and perfectly applied make up right down to what Paige knew was her own special shade of pink pastel lipstick.  It was all the young spy could do to maintain even breathing and a calm outward demeanour as she looked. 

 “Come now your turn on the runway,” Tracey said sitting down, Paige taking note of how gracefully she crossed her legs.

 The young spy mused on the offer for a few seconds before deciding to reciprocate.  Paige had on her resplendent mauve skirt and matching jacket, her skirt cut just a touch higher then Tracey’s her legs dazzling as she turned, their power, grace and muscular attractiveness displayed to totality with her pumps, a pink open toed number with a tapered heel that sent hearts pounding, including the one in front of her.  Tracey watched her hard young ass move as she turned then followed the line up to her blouse a perfect sleeveless number that tapered in to the neck leaving her arms and part of her neck exposed!  The D.O.O.M. spy got her wish seconds later as Paige took of her jacket and turned, fluttering the heart of the woman and more than a few onlookers as she turned about in a circle. 

“What power and stealth and sexiness hers arms and back have!” Tracey thought as she watched.

 Paige’s auburn hair was a usually done on ringlets and coifed to perfection along with her make up and jewellery; she donned her jacket and sat down.

 “It’s hard to believe this creature is just twenty-one and this complete a package.  I shudder to think how incredible she’ll be in her thirties, if so makes it that far of course,” Tracey added silently in her mind, the emphasis on the final part a reminder to her about sides chosen.

 “Fashion show and introductions concluded, now please leave!” Paige said picking up her book.

 “Well and here I thought we were off to a civil start?  I mean you no harm my dear, I just thought we could indulge in some common girl talk for a while and put our divergent ideologies aside?” Tracey pouted.

 “Tell you what I’ll say something nice at your funeral! Paige answered coldly.

 “Now that is mean, I can see your reputation is as reads, quite ruthless!  You really ought to dole that out more carefully, don’t want to use it all up early on in your career.  Besides I have no intention of leaving until I’ve had my tea and here it is,” Tracey said acknowledging and dismissing their server with one glance.  

 “Then I’ll leave Miss Hale I have no intention of consorting with the likes of you on any level other than professional!” Paige said snapping her book shut and getting up.

 “The likes of me, I wonder what you mean by that, opposite number perhaps, nefarious femme fatale or is it something deeper than that, yes, that’s it, you meant ‘fat chick’, now that is cruel, even for you!” Tracey said introspectively, but in a mocking tone.

‘Well just to set the record straight, neither of us is a ‘fat chick’ and come Miss Worthington, if I may be so formal, aren’t you the least bit curious as to why I’m here, I know I am?” Tracey smiled over her shoulder finding her words had stopped the young agent from departing. 

 Paige feigned indifference on the outside, even frustration, but inward she was being consumed with inquisitiveness.  She weighted the options, her life, dual life, was already complicated enough, adding something that didn’t need to be seemed a folly she couldn’t afford.

“How much more chaos can be added to chaos and will the change even be noticeable?” she mused as she gracefully turned on her heel and found her seat again. 

“What’s on your mind then?” Paige said curtly.

 “Well, tea for one,” Tracey said as she poured.

“I prefer milk I won’t ask you if you take lemon, with a disposition like that, the tea wouldn’t need anymore souring!” the D.O.O.M. agent smiled sarcastically.

“Milk as well please,” Paige answered trying to be polite and for the world wondering why.

They took a sip, each carefully watching the other, as a cat watches a cornered mouse, careful not to let it out site.  Tracey delicately returned her cup to its saucer, the motion barely registering a sound as she did, leaned back and smiled.

 “You still think you’re the old you, don’t you Paige, whatever that incarnation was?  I used to think like that too, but I put down that bag of rocks years ago,” Tracey asked.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Paige answered her voice annoyed and slightly raised.

“You still think you’re a quote unquote fat chick and by being scene with me another quote unquote fat chick we’ll get those stares and sideways glances we used to get on any given day!  Well I have news for you, we are getting stared at right this instant, but not the way you’re panicked mind is thinking!  I count ten men and two women who are and have been stealing glances at us since our little fashion show and I can tell you exactly what their thinking although I clean it up a little.  Those are two beautiful well put together women, I bet they’d be deadly in the sack and we are, in many ways!  Now I’ll tell you what you thought they were saying.  Bet they fight over the last piece of cheesecake!”  Tracey smiled and Paige in spite of herself did as well much to her immediate annoyance.

“Excellent, you do have a sense of humour so we can connect on some level,” Tracey smiled, before continuing.

Perhaps even on this one.  I was born and grew up in Sheffield, left when I went to university, but you know to this day during the football season I still know what’s happening to Sheffield Wednesday, their my private naughty passion.  My dad raised me, he and my mother, who took off and I’ve never seen since, divorced when I was four.  So far a tragic story, right, I can see I have you in the grips of suspense Paige,” Tracey smiled as she watched the C.O.I.L. spy eyeing her book.

 “Anyway, now being a man down, or woman more to the point, my dad raised me, always with the best of intentions, but not always with the best of results, but that’s jumping ahead a bit.  You know,” Tracey said her eyes looking at Paige but far off and past her as the young spy observed.

“Some of my best memories are afternoons at Hillsborough with my dad, both of us in our jersey’s screaming our heads off.  When I was little he’d put me on his shoulders so I could see the game, of course that only lasted a season or two, after that I became too, as he used to put it, awkward, for him to do it.  Of course, all the crisps and packets of chips to and from the game didn’t help, my dad, I love him dearly, but he could never say no to me, even when I didn’t ask.  I got a new Sheffield Wednesday jersey every year for Christmas, I had to, the one from the year before didn’t fit anymore,” Tracey smiled and laughed a little, Paige didn’t.

“Then of course there was school, you remember those happy days, huddling in the corner against the brick wall, you and all the other girls who were ‘big boned or just big for your age’ as your parents used to tell you, somehow hoping that would ease the pain of the mental torment of being a social reject.  Anyway, there you all were, your backs turned to the world staring at the wall, heads down, every so often stealing a glimpse over your shoulder to see if the pack was circling you.  You remember the feeling, hoping against hope today was the day they would choose someone else to rip apart in front of you.  Looking back its funny now to see how we did it to ourselves, gathering in a corner with no means of escape except past the gauntlet of lions, who once they knew they had us on the run would attack with abandon, pick out the weakest that day and gorge themselves on her torment until they were full!” Tracey mused.

 Tracey watched Paige as she talked rather nonchalantly looking for the slightest bit of opening or commonality between them, see saw nothing, so she pressed on.

“Then of course there were the birthday’s you didn’t get invited to, you know, the ones just up the road, always at a popular girls house.  Ironic how we always lived near the ‘popular’ girls or boys wasn’t it, must be some kind of cosmic ying and yan thing that balances out the universe, of course then you never thought of that, the cut was deep and cruel and that’s all you felt.” Tracey reflected.

“What was your outlet Paige?  No don’t tell me now, I can wait,” Tracey cautioned.

 Paige wasn’t about to say anything, not that she could have gotten a word in anyway, instead as she had before the D.O.O.M. spy picked up the conversation.

 “Mine was drawing, at first trees and flowers but around eight or nine, it started to become people and from there clothes.  I can’t exactly recall when I made the leap from copying to designing, but I do remember it giving me a whole new world to escape into, which was good, because the one I was living in wasn’t doing me any favours.  Mind you, not that I was helping it or myself at all, a new year, time to go shopping for larger sizes,” Tracey did her best to smile, but this time Paige could see the hurt steal into her face at the very corners of her mouth and into her words.

 “Well,” Tracey continued, gathering herself back to her confident demeanour.

 “I lived in my fantasy world, designed, drew and created, my dad encouraging me, helping me with extra art and sewing lessons all through my forms.  My grades were always good, of course they would be no useless distractions like a boyfriend or chatting on the phone with girlfriends or nights out at the disco with friends, so I graduated high up and went off to university to study design, concentrating on fashion.”

Tracey stopped for a moment then laughed almost uncontrollably for several seconds before righting herself.

“Goodness, more of that and I’d have smeared my make up, can’t have that now can we.  Excuse me, my laughter was all internal, I was just recalling how I had to be the worst dressed fashion design student in the entire discipline.  All the other women and men dressed smartly and trendy, I wore what fit, mostly track pants and bulky jumpers or sweat tops, what a site.  Here I was designing and creating all these amazing fashions that I couldn’t wear, but you know I never thought about it, for me the creation process was nirvana.  I never realised it at the time, it was only upon reflection a while later that I realized I’d given up on life and was willing to settle for as small a piece as other people were willing to give me!” Tracey said in as serious a tone as Paige had heard from her yet.

“I graduated top of my class, applied and was accepted into Hamilton University for my Masters.  Things were uneventful for the two years I was there.  Then the afternoon, just after I’d finished my final exam a girl, well to make a long story short, I was set up on a gag date and humiliated in front of a group of classmates.  I suppose it was their way of getting back at the fat frumpy girl for doing so well,” Tracey said picking and saying her words carefully.

“Now hang on Paige I’m almost at the end,” she smiled.

“I ran away, tale between me legs and all, crying like I’d never cried before, all the old wounds open and bleeding.  I ran and ran and ran, straight into a chip shop and ordered a large bag of chips with gravy.  Food had always been my friend; it would make this hurt go away!  I rammed them into my mouth, one, sometimes four and five at a time; all the while the tears streaming down my cheeks, the pain wasn’t going away!  All those memories, childhood, adolescences, the loneliness, I couldn’t vanquish them, no matter how fast I ate, I put down the bag and balled my eyes out, here I was 21 and except for my dad I’d never been kissed by another man and I knew at that moment I never would be!” Tracey said then grew silent.

“Well what the bloody hell happened then!” Paige said annoyed then flustered that she’d been caught up in the woman’s tale. 

“No shame my Paige, I do tell a good story, more so because I’ve experienced it.  I’m sure I’ll be just as caught up in yours when and if I hear it,” Tracey said before commencing once more.

 “Well there I was feeling all sorry for myself and all when I feel this soft warm hand on the back of my neck and another equally inviting hand slip into mine.  I looked up through my red eyes and into the most piecing set of coal black eyes I have ever seen.  The next thing you know the cloak this person was wearing flies over and envelops us both, I go into a kind of dream state and the next thing you know,” Tracey paused as she looked at Paige seeing she was hanging on every word.

'I’m a vampire!” Tracey laughed.

Paige rolled her eyes and reached for her book.

“Ok, mea culpa, I’ll be serious,” Tracey said the laugh and smile long gone.

 “The hands and neck part is true, but when I looked up it was this stunning woman who just looked at me, and I mean looked at me, her eyes darting everywhere, but always able to hold me in her gaze.  She cleaned up my face with a silk cloth from her purse and brushed back my hair, her soft hands soothing as they went through it until I was calm.  We never spoke during that whole time, we didn’t have too, it was an instant connect, I recognized it a little later but she right away, we left the chips and the chip shop together.” Tracey finished.

“She recruited you into D.O.O.M. end of story I hope?” Paige sighed.

“Yes, she was a D.O.O.M. agent and no it’s not the end of the story, just a little more.  D.O.O.M. rejected me because they thought I was too fat.  She took me and trained me herself, being a full figured agent herself she saw what they didn’t, I reapplied after a time and was accepted.  Now before you say why D.O.O.M., their the bad guys and all that, listen.  I was drowning and a drowning person will grab even the point of a spear.  Does that excuse what I do, maybe not, but does being a good girl excuse some of the things you’ve done, maybe not!  Either side of the fence is hard Paige and neither side is always entirely right or wrong,” Tracey finished. 

Paige was quiet for some time until Tracey once again broke the silence.

“Now that’s the end!” she said her eyes wide.

“Thank God!” Paige said in an exasperated tone as she reached for her book and got up.

 “You mean that’s it, that’s your response, I spill my guts and you’re just going to leave!” Tracey admonished.

 “Look, you invaded my space, took up my time telling me true confessions.  News flash, I’m not a shrink, if you need one don’t use me, especially me, we have nothing in common except that each of us is the enemy to the other and let’s keep it that way!  I don’t want to hear anymore from you, I don’t want to see you again, because of I do I’ll kill you!  Now sod off!” Paige threatened.

“Off to report me to C.O.I.L. or F.E.M.?” Tracey offered as a final wisecrack that got Paige’s attention.

 “You know working both sides of the fence can get very tiring especially for someone so young, usually tends to shorten one’s career!” Tracey smiled as Paige came back into her view. 

“I’ll say one more thing before I shut up, then the next move is up to you Paige.  Sooner or later they’ll come for you the way the came for Claire Baxter!  No one gets out alive Paige; Catherine Wycliffe is all the proof you need of that!” Tracey just finished saying before she found her face smashed into the table top.

“That promise of killing you becomes true right fucking now!” Paige said her voice raised a little more than she would have like.

 “I’d agree completely if I was the culprit, but I’m not, now please release me you’re making a scene and that is one thing neither of us need!” Tracey said as calmly as she could on the outside although she was terrified on the inside.

“My god, the speed and power of her!” she said to herself as Paige came to reason and released her ignoring the startled looks of the other patrons. 

“Never, NEVER mention Catherine’s name again in front of me or so help me God I’ll kill you no matter where we are, scene or no scene, is that clear!” Paige almost growled the words through clenched teeth

Tracey normally didn’t frighten easily or at all, but the coldness of those words and dead blackness in Paige’s eyes as she said them got into her and seized her to her very marrow, she felt the terror Paige intended and simply and rather sheepishly nodded. 

 “So D.O.O.M. has you on a short leash do they?  What, they don’t completely trust you, hence the don’t make a scene remark?” Paige asked, her voice modulated back to normal.

“What make’s you think I’m the one being monitored it….” Tracey started to retort a hint of a smirk in her voice.

“Cut the shit!” Paige cut in bringing Tracey up short with the abruptness of the comment.

“I’m twenty one years old, been an agent for a short time with a few missions.  I may be dumb but I’m not as stupid as to believe I’m all that valuable to C.O.I.L. when there are numerous other agents with years of experience and vastly superior skills to me.  In time who knows, maybe I will be, but even at my young age I know enough to know I’m expendable at any time, you are on the other hand Miss Hale are an entirely different scenario and I suspect part of the reason you’re here?” Paige smiled across the table. 

 “Go on,” Tracey smiled back not liking the sudden turn in the conversation.

 “I suspect you’re awaking to the fact that you are expendable, perhaps even in an internecine way, D.O.O.M. may not be the big happy family you were led to believe.  I suspect they don’t tolerate failure to well and perhaps you’ve missed your mark on the last couple of assignments and they think you’re loosing your skills.  You strike me as a person who collects secrets, decides which ones to tell and which to keep, the only problem is that you’re very good at hiding that aspect and it’s just that flaw that has your employers worried.  In short your liabilities have overtaken your assets to D.O.O.M.” Paige stated flatly.

 Tracey picked up her spoon and stirred her tea while Paige spoke her face betraying nothing as the spoon silently turned inside the cup.

 “This is a young woman in age only; she’s a mature woman, what skills, what discernment, am I truly losing it or is she just that so much more advanced than I thought, so much so we are not even on the same page.  Don’t show anything, don’t let her know she’s hit home, you may be able to regain the advantage,” Tracey thought as she twirled her spoon.

Paige picked up her tea and had a sip, her eyes on Tracey all the time, she put down her cup just as silently as Tracey had down hers before, smiled and waited.

“And here I thought I was the storyteller,” Tracey said after a long sentence of silence between the two.

“Well if that’s the case then I suppose our little tete a tete is over you’ve said what you’ve had to say and so have I.  Now if you’ll excuse me I have another appointment,” Paige said getting up and giving Tracey a full look at her as a return favour.

 Paige watched the spoon clang against the side of the Tracey’s cup, she circled around as if to leave then suddenly she was back in her chair, graceful and silent a smile on her face as she picked up her fork and cut out a piece of cake her lips closing over the creation and a smile growing on her face.

 “There’s too much here for just me, please don’t be shy Miss Hale.”

 “What changed your mind may I ask?” Tracey said.

 “Let’s just enjoy the cake,” Paige answered.