enemyofperfect: a spray of orange leaves against a muted background (Default)
e ([personal profile] enemyofperfect) wrote2013-11-21 10:12 am

I was supposed to be sleeping, not writing fanfic.

[Although this is a POI crossover, it has nothing to do with 3x09 "The Crossing".]

"There's nothing here," Reese says, looking around the deserted intersection. "You sure the Machine didn't give you a time along with the address?"

"Unfortunately, I am." Finch's voice is wry over the earpiece. "If there's really no one there, you might have to settle in for a long wait, although-- Given the infrequency with which city maintenance attends to the street lamps in that particular neighborhood, I imagine the lighting may be rather poor."

"Leaving lots of shadowy corners, yeah, Finch. But none of them are -- just a minute," Reese says, and swiftly turns.

The man whose footfalls Reese heard approaching stops half a dozen yards away, just inside the circle of the one working lamppost on the block. "Excuse me," he says, politeness stretched thin over visible anxiety. "Could you direct me to the nearest charging station?" Then before Reese can say anything, he sways and falls to the ground.

Reese is knelt beside him in an instant, but it's already too late: there's no pulse beneath his fingers. "Damn it, Finch--"

"Entering hibernation mode," the man says calmly, without opening his eyes. "Please recharge to avoid catastrophic data loss."

"Mr. Reese, what is happening?"

"What did you say?" Reese demands, ignoring Finch.

"Entering hibernation mode," the man repeats. His inflection is exactly the same as before. "Please recharge--"

"Mr. Reese?"

"--to avoid catastrophic data loss."

Still the man has no pulse. After a moment, he adds, "Estimated time until total battery depletion, seven hundred and forty-six minutes." His chest doesn't rise again after he finishes speaking.

"Mr. Reese, are you--"

"I'm here, Finch," Reese says. "And I'm damned if I know."

Post a comment in response:

If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting