Wrong footed

Her internal note system had picked up on a lot of idle chatter that she would have to write down later, if only to give the words the weight it deserved. Among them was the mention of Walter Hunt. She hadn't known he was in contact with his son, but more worryingly, she didn't know what they were talking about. From what she knew, their relationship was at best fraught. Any sort of disturbance might have her identity of Naomi crumble. It would only need one careless statement from her to make them suspicious. Who knows, that might have been what had gotten Ky killed.

And like the mere mention of his name would summon him, she got her answers.

Naomi met him in the place she least expected to meet him. Outside her apartment building. While she might have had idle musings to head over to that park bench after the frustration of the bugs in her apartment had mounted, a safe place to store and view the findings on the USB had been the priority.

This all amounted to being blind-sided by a navy pressed suit and slicked back grey hair.

Walter Hunt blinked as if surprised by the coincidence and Naomi blinked as if she hadn't noticed the black car rounding the corner. Or the civil clad man casually fiddling with his phone across the street.

"Oh, if it isn't Naomi my dear!"

Naomi smiled warmly and moved to greet him. "Well hello. So you do exist outside of that bench. I was beginning to wonder."

"Now you wound me." His eyes crinkled with his answering smile. "How have you been?"

"Better, actually. Remember that copy machine? I figured out why it always stuttered after lunch. Someone would put in the thicker, more luxurious paper. You know, the one that's used for anything official? Well, mix everything up and the machine can't get a tight enough grip." She rolled her eyes. "Waste of a day calling it in to be fixed. How about you? Everything going okay?"

He laughed. "Nothing that annoying, I assure you. I've been well."

She made sure that her bright and sunny smile was still up despite the urge to frown. If he could just get to the point, that would be great, thank you. Naomi crinkled her eyes, looking down to sweep a hand over her face, properly rearranging away any irritation that might leak. Underneath, she barely wanted to acknowledge the worry that simmered at this meeting. What was the coincidence that she would begin to doubt her cover and a happen-stance greeting by Walter? Too small to ignore.

"You do look good," she flattered easily when she looked up again.

"Ah, might be the new tie." He patted down his navy tie. If she squinted and perhaps tilted her head, she would guess it was a shade darker than his usual affair. But that was just a guess. Walter waved the matter away quickly enough. "But it's great that we've met, actually. I was just thinking of asking you something, and here you are."

"Here I am!" She grandly swept her arms out, laughing and desperately trying to tamp down the sarcasm. Like he hadn't purposefully sought her out. And right next to her apartment building, too. He knew more than she had expected.

Walter hummed, looking like he was thinking of the best way to approach the subject. It wasn't until she raised an eyebrow in concern that he began. "I'm going away from London for some time. Visiting family," he added at her perplexed look. Wasn't his only living family his son, Jack Hunt? "I worry for you, however."

"Me?" She didn't feign her surprise.

"How's your work coming along? You've expressed some concerning tendencies from your president, among others."

"Well." Her eyes flickered around. There wasn't a visible trap but the way he was looking at her should certainly qualify for some type of warfare. The old caring grandpa look. "It's getting better. I'm not going to lie that it wasn't difficult at first, but everybody has been treating me well. Definitely nothing for you to worry about." Naomi tried to placate him while still being confused. Where was he going with this?

"I see, I see. That's a relief to hear."

"I... yes." Her eyebrows drew together. "You said you had something to ask about?"

"Hmm, would you believe me if I said I had quite forgotten about it?" He chuckled, and after a beat she joined him, tossing out an old man joke that he pretended to be mortally wounded about.

She took a deep breath, smile still reaching her eyes after the chuckle. "I hope it wasn't anything important. I mean, we rarely get to meet often as it is, and with you going away for..." She paused, hoping Walter would fill in the rest.

He didn't. "I'm sure I would have remembered if it was anything important." He glanced up at the sky, then down at his wristwatch, an eyebrow shooting up in surprise. "Well, would you look at the time. I think it's time for me to go. It was lovely to meet you." His eyes crinkled from the smile. "You're always such a nice surprise. In fact, I think I'll be keeping an eye on you." Walter inclined his head, winking in good humor.

A shiver wrecked through her at the implications.

"Always nice to meet you," Naomi agreed warmly, waving as he ambled across the street.

Her smile felt fixed, heartbeat thundering in her ears. She looked back at her apartment and decided against going back, instead heading to the park. The knee-jerk reflex to call her handler and report the incident was only tamped down by their recent conversations. He would only repeat his previous assertion that she should back off for a moment.

It galled her, even thinking about the action. Worse was that he was right. Better safe than sorry was a popular mantra in their Agency for a reason, after all. While the award might be less, it was always better than gaining nothing at all.

Jack Hunt and Blake Bourque were already deep in contact with her. Their relationship towards her and against each other had a certain dynamic that she was sure she could manipulate but perhaps she had underestimated the vulnerability in her position.

It irritated her to no end that her handler was right, but better be safe than sorry. Perhaps she would call in sick tomorrow. Plead for some vacation. Naomi was treading hot waters and there was only her handler that could bail her out if something happened. And she was beginning to feel sorry underneath her irritation.

Jack and Blake were friends long before she came into the picture, but after only a few weeks and they were beginning to behave irrationally towards each other. Arguing, and ignoring each other. It was dangerous to be stuck in that situation so the best course for her was to simply back off and hope time would cool them down.

Underneath it all, she was trying to ignore the burning weight her wristwatch had become.

If, and that was a big if, there was anything incriminating she had downloaded from their computer…?

She would leave.

… Except why did that thought discomfit her?

She wandered further into the park, and tried not to think about it.