The Games of Kings

Chapter Eight


"What do we have?" Ramsey placed the kolaches and doughnuts on the side table with the already brewed coffee. He knew someone was bound to say something about his all but bouncy mood, but as he was in a generous mood, he was willing to overlook it. After all, great sex with Chris had the potential to make him forgive just about anything.

Dylan's cough preceded his words, his voice sounding like he was hiding laughter. "We've defined all the words but haven't found any similarities among them."

"Saki was the pen name of British author Hector Hugh Munro," Alicia started off. "A xenocryst is an individual foreign crystal included within an igneous body. Zabaglione is an Italian dessert." She threw her hands up in frustration. "It gets even more random from there."

"Wafture is the act of making a wave-like motion." Ramsey noticed that Chris didn't lift his head from his laptop as he spoke but that a light blush had crept over his cheeks. He grinned, magnanimously deciding to not tease his lover. "Sabbat is another spelling for Sabbath and in the fourteenth through sixteenth centuries it was used to describe a secret rendezvous of witches and sorcerers for worshiping the Devil, characterized by orgiastic rites, dances, feasting, etc."

"Sounds like fun," Ramsey murmured, biting his lip when the blush deepened.

"A flocci," Benedict said, loud enough to draw everyone's attention away from both Ramsey and Chris, "is a small tuft of woolly hair or, used meteorologically, it refers to a cloud having elements in the form of small, rounded tufts." He sent a severe glare over the rim of his glasses at Ramsey after he'd finished reading. The look said to behave or else. Ramsey decided it was in his best interest to do exactly what Benedict wanted at this time.

"And that's what we've got so far." Alicia began picking apart her kolache, eating the good bits first.

Ramsey nodded, booting up his own computer to continue the search. "Finish the kolaches while they're still hot, everyone." He found an online dictionary and typed in the next word on the clown's verbal list. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Chris nudging a sausage and jalapeño kolache towards his elbow. He flashed him a thank you smile, reaching out to curl his fingers around the slim wrist briefly. His smile grew when Chris shivered at his touch. But took back his hand and frowned as the search engine brought back results. "Fanariot isn't even a real word," he announced. "The closest approximation is spelled with a 'ph' and has something to do with the pharaohs."

"See." Dylan leaned back in his chair, glaring over at the clown. "No commonalities, nothing for us to go one." He ran a hand through his hair. "Man, this guy's annoying."

"Well, maybe once we finish defining all the words we'll see a pattern." With that optimistic thought, Chris bit into his kolache and turned back to his computer. "Habeas is most commonly used in the Latin phrase habeas corpus ad subjiciendum and means 'you should have/produce the body to be subjected to be examined.' A writ of habeas corpus is a court order addressed to a prison official ordering that a detainee be brought to the court so it can be determined whether or not that person is imprisoned lawfully and whether or not they should be released from custody."

"Oh yeah," Dylan muttered around his fifth kolache. "That makes the pattern so much more clear."

"Dude, shut up!" Chris' open handed smack missed by a mile.

"This doesn’t help either. Thysanoter is an insect in the order Thysanoptera." Ramsey bit into his breakfast with a little more force than necessary and chewed rather vigorously. Dylan was right, the Game Master was annoying. He wondered if all the other teams were this aggravated with this particular perpetrator.

"Oh, you're going to love this." Alicia's tone said they weren't. "Eocene means of or belonging to the geologic time, rock series, or sedimentary deposits of the second epoch of the Tertiary Period, characterized by warm climates and the rise of most modern mammalian families."

"Yeah, love it already," Dylan muttered.

"Last, but not least," Benedict announced, waving his coffee as a magician would with his wand for the grand finale. "Toa Baja is a city in Puerto Rico. It is known as 'La Ciudad Bajo Aguas,' the underwater city and was founded in 1745. It is located in the northern coast, north of Toa Alta and Bayamon. The city is located east of Dorado and west of Cantano."

"We're never going to solve this one." Chris fainted back into his chair rather dramatically.

Ramsey hated to agree but he did.


~*~*~*~*~*~


Ramsey saw him coming a mile away, so he did nothing more than sigh into his freshly made cup of coffee and lean against the counter. Benedict joined him in the break room post haste. “Benedict.”

“Ramsey.” Benedict started to nonchalantly fix himself a cup of coffee as well. As if one profiler could fool another.

“Is this where you ask what my intentions are?” Ramsey couldn’t help the amused note in his voice. It worked because Benedict chuckled.

“No, this is where you assure me that you know what you’re doing with a young man I consider my son.” Benedict sipped at his coffee, turning to affect the same pose as Ramsey. They both stared through the window at the young man in question.

“I know I’m in love with him,” Ramsey admitted. “I know I want to make it work between us.”

“You promise to do your best to make him happy?” Benedict turned to study him.

“Yes, sir.”

Benedict hrrrmph. “Good enough.”

Ramsey hid his smile in his cup.


~*~*~*~*~*~


“It’s him.” Dylan blinked, clearly shocked as he held out the phone to Ramsey. It was mid-day. Lunch had been brought to them and devoured as they tried every conceivable trick to solving the riddle they could think of or find. But it was proving to be much more difficult than the others. Benedict and Ramsey had even tried their contacts in finding a cryptographer to help them with the puzzle. Unfortunately, not a single source had an answer for them.

Ramsey stared at the phone for a second before realization kicked in. “The Game Master?”

Dylan nodded, throwing the phone at his team leader.

“Put him on the speaker,” Benedict suggested.

Ramsey complied, hitting the speaker button and replacing the handset back into the base. “Special Agent Ramsey Montgomery, FBI. Game Master, I presume?”

“You presume correctly, Agent Montgomery. I have called to apologize for the appalling lack of behavior of my people. The gentleman in question unfortunately became too trigger happy and has been . . . reprimanded. I am most pleased neither you nor Dr. Hardy was seriously harmed.” The voice wasn’t the cultured tones of the upper echelon of society, but his diction spoke of an education.

“We were most pleased as well,” Benedict replied, almost pleasantly. "As we were assured at the beginning of the obstacle that deadly force would not be used."

“Again, Dr. Hardy, I tender my apologies.” He seemed genuinely distressed by the idea that one of them could have been hurt. "I am sorry about the younger Dr. Hardy's ankle."

Ramsey shrugged at the others’ bewildered looks at the multiple murderer’s sincerity. He looked to Benedict, but the profiler was staring intently at the phone.

“Perhaps, sir, a boon is in order? For the breach in conduct on your player’s behalf?”

“A boon?” The Game Master laughed delightedly. “Of course, a boon would be a perfect way to recompense your team. Name it, Dr. Hardy!”

“Frankly, sir, your current puzzle, has us, well,” Benedict chuckled, “puzzled.”

Once again delighted laughter drifted over the phone lines. “Then here’s a hint, Dr. Hardy, the alpha and the omega were always the most important except for the very last omega. Good luck!” The dial tone replaced the sound of the Game Master's voice.

“The alpha and the omega?” Alicia repeated, eyes questioning each of them in turn.

"Except for the very last?" Chris stared at the words on the view screen. "What?"

“Damn, that guy’s annoying,” Dylan growled, glaring at the phone then the clown. "Giving us another riddle to solve the original one."


~*~*~*~*~


"The alpha and the omega." Benedict quietly repeated, fingers twirling a pen while he thought.

Ramsey rubbed his eyes with both hands to relieve the burning sensation there before watching Benedict think again. The others had gone to bring back dinner. It didn't take three people to get food, but they needed the break. So here he was, in the conference room, surrounded by old files regarding the Game Master, their notes on the most current game, and an eerie life sized clown in the corner. And if anyone accidentally set the demonic thing off again, he was going to shoot it to hell and back before sending it to storage. They'd already tape recorded its message so it was perfectly superfluous as far as Ramsey was concerned.

He refocused on Benedict, thinking how much alike and how different their two profilers were given that they were family. Chris had been orphaned at an early age, his parents dying in a car accident involving a drunk driver that had also been killed. Benedict and his wife Diane had taken the young boy in and raised him as their own, surrounding him with their own four children. Their minds were both sharp as swords and devoted to family but the similarities ended there.

Benedict was shorter than his nephew, tending toward a belly if he didn't watch his food intake. Chris was slim and almost delicate, definitely fine boned. His uncle had mentioned that Chris took after his mother in that respect as his father tended towards the same body type as his brother. Benedict was outgoing and an incorrigible ladies man. After the death of his wife, for five years he mourned her, but when he decided to live his life, Benedict did it with gusto few managed. He went dancing every Friday night, often with a different lady on his arm.

Chris, on the other hand, was extremely shy when anyone showed an interest in him. Benedict had once regaled him with tales of Chris' teenage years. How the young man never noticed the attentions of adoring males and females but when he did, Chris would run straight for home and hide behind one of his cousins or uncle or aunt. That was one of the reasons Ramsey had been so surprised by Chris' actions at the Dominion house. He expected Chris to shy away from him, not to grab him by the hair and drag him down.

"Benedict?"

"Hmm?" His mentor didn't lift his head from the files he was studying.

"Do you think Chris likes me enough to marry me?" From the way Benedict held perfectly still Ramsey knew it was an unexpected question. Hell, he surprised himself with that question.

"I don't know, Ramsey." Benedict caught his eyes dead on. The serious glint in them told Ramsey he wasn't being facetious. "Do you like him enough to pop the question?"

Ramsey found himself tilting his head and closing his eyes, much like Chris. He ran pictures of the younger man through his mind's eye. He saw the first time he'd seen Chris, nearly two years ago. Benedict had introduced him and even then Chris was throwing him mixed signals. Chris had let loose with a smile that lit up his face but had stayed firmly entrenched behind Benedict the entire time. He remembered thinking that smile reminded him of sunlight, his children's laughter, and the ocean. All things he loved.

He remembered how, just a few days ago, Chris had played with his children and Thane until they all dropped from exhaustion and then the young man gathered them to him to nap like a pile of puppies. There were times that just looking at Chris made him feel better. The young man's jokes and the absolute glee that radiated from him when he beat Dylan at basketball, using his speed and cunning against the other man's size, made Ramsey smile every time. Chris got along with both sets of his parents, which surprised the hell out of Ramsey. It was one thing for his own parents to like Chris, but that Laura's parents also like him was the absolute shock. The fact that his in-laws were also actively matchmaking their widowed son-in-law with Chris was another shock. Ramsey opened his eyes and smiled at Benedict. "Yeah, I definitely like him enough to pop the question."

Benedict tried to hide his grin behind his coffee mug, but didn't quite succeed. "Then maybe you should ask him."

Ramsey flashed him a grin. "Maybe I will."

"Of course." Benedict put down his coffee mug, eyes serious once more. "There are issues that need to be dealt with before you do that."

"What issues?" Ramsey frowned, running things through his mind's eye. If his family approved and Benedict approved, what else needed to be addressed?

"He's your subordinate." Benedict leaned back in his chair, obviously not needing to say more than that.

"If I want to be with him . . ."

"Then you'd have to transfer him per Bureau policy." Benedict's face was set in stone. "I pulled every string I had to bring Chris into this team because I knew you three would look out for him. That you wouldn't ridicule his intelligence or be intimidated by it. Ramsey, I do not want him transferred to another team who won't appreciate him."

"Who won't protect him," Ramsey finished the unspoken for Benedict, who nodded. "I need to speak to the director."

That seemed to be exactly what Benedict was waiting for because he fully relaxed into his chair. "You do that."


~*~*~*~*~


"She'll see you now, Agent Montgomery."

Ramsey nodded a thank you at the secretary as he walked past her desk and into the lion's den. The assistant director sat behind her desk, silver hair haloed by the afternoon sun. Dark, sharp eyes watched as he moved into her space and into the indicated chair.

"What can I do for you, Agent?" Assistant Director Hannigan was anything but matronly. Known for her gruff manner and no nonsense style of running the FBI's Los Angeles branch, she was rumored to be on the fast track to taking over as the director of the entire FBI. It was an ambition Ramsey knew he could work to his advantage.

"I need you to start writing Agent Christopher Hardy's performance reports." He saw no reason to procrastinate in laying down his wishes. Director Hannigan liked it that way.

"And why should I burden myself with that when I already have several other responsibilities?" She peered at him over the rims of her steel framed glasses.

"Why do you think, ma'am?" He stared her down. He wasn't going to lay it out for her unless he had to.

"Fraternization among agents is discouraged, Agent Montgomery." Her eyes never lost their laser-like intensity as she leaned forward on her desk. "Especially among team leaders and their subordinates."

"Discouraged, but not prohibited, ma'am. Chris and I are consenting adults." He leaned back, not willing to give an inch on this.

"Then he'll be transferred—"

"With all due respect, Director, I don't want Chris on any other team. He fits in with mine just fine."

"And if your wishes don't amount to a hill of beans, Agent Montgomery?"

He grinned, shark-like in its ruthlessness. "I'd like you to remember whom I'm related to, Director Hannigan." He could almost see the wheels and lights clicking in her head. He'd never used his family's money or influence before, but he wasn't above using his entire arsenal if it got him Chris.

"I'll review your request and let you know." Her tone was magnanimous but he knew better.

Ramsey's grin softened into a victorious one. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Now, about this Game Master. What's your team's progress?"


~*~*~*~*~


It would have surprised Ramsey to know that Chris was always aware of him. He always knew if Ramsey was nearby and could always sense the other man's moods. Ever since last night, though, Chris was so on edge that he couldn't add two plus two, let alone decipher a human being's moods. He couldn't even detect the shift in the air that let him know if Ramsey was nearby or not. Which played hell with his attempts to avoid Ramsey. Oh, he definitely did not regret last night. No, rather, Chris had no idea what he should do. Was this a once off? A fuck buddy situation? Did Ramsey want something more with him? Chris did not think that Ramsey would jeopardize both of their careers for a one night stand, but neither did he say anything about a relationship between of the two of them. With all of these differing thoughts combating in his mind, Chris took to avoiding the other man.

Which is why he nearly yelped when he walked passed Ramsey's office only to be yanked in side. The breath whooshed from his lungs as Chris tumbled into a nicely solid chest and strong arms gathered him close. He tilted his head back and blinked at the blinding grin on Ramsey's lips. "Uhm, hi?"

"Hi." Ramsey's grin grew mischievous as he tugged Chris closer and shut the door, locking it even.

Chris had no choice but to walk forward with Ramsey's arms still firmly entrenched around his waist and hips. "Uh, Ram?"

"Yeah, baby?"

Chris swallowed the ball of want when Ramsey called him that. "What are we doing?"

"Having a conversation." Ramsey managed to lead them back behind his desk. He sank down onto his massive leather chair, his office’s pride and joy, and tugged Chris down.

"About?" Chris muffled a little shriek then gasped as he found himself straddling Ramsey in his office. In the middle of the federal building. He was pretty sure they were breaking a few hundred regulations and policies. He swiveled, making sure the blinds were down. Sure enough they were. Ramsey thought of everything it seemed. His brain scrambled when Ramsey slid his thumbs under his shirt tails and down into his slacks. The wicked digits rubbed tiny circles into his skin and made him want to do naughty, totally against regulations things to Ramsey. He forcibly cleared his mind and throat. "About what?"

"Oh, you know. You. Me. Sex."

"Sex?" Chris glared at Ramsey for laughing at him when he squeaked the word.

"Uh huh." Ramsey leaned forward and up, pressing a soft kiss to that spot under Chris' jaw line making his lover whimper. He seemed to like that reaction because he did it again and again. Chris had no complaints, baring his neck for more. "So, I talked to the director today."

"Mmm?" Chris wasn't really paying attention. Who could with Ramsey's lips and teeth nipping their way across his sensitive spots.

"She says if we." Those lips formed the words against his skin. Chris didn't think talking could be so erotic. "Stay discreet; she won't transfer either of us."

The word "transfer" grabbed his attention, but Chris still couldn't quite think so he pulled his hands away from exploring Ramsey's chest and shoulders to sink them into longish dark locks. He captured those strands in his fingers and used them to gently pull Ramsey away from mapping his neck with his tongue. "Ramsey?"

"Mmmm?"

Chris had to fight to keep Ramsey from dropping back to his neck. "Say that again."

Ramsey blinked, the terse note in his lover's voice breaking though his daze. He blinked, clearing the last of the fog of lust. Chris was kneeling above him, beautiful hazel eyes clouded with worry. He smiled in reassurance. "Director Hannigan says that as long as we are discreet, we can be together and on the same team."

"But . . . but, isn't that against rules or policies or something?"

Ramsey shrugged. "The regulations have been changed in the last five years or so. It's still discouraged, but not prohibited. We would, of course, have to sign a mutual consent affidavit from both of us."

"I remember something Uncle Benedict said." Chris let his eyes close in remembrance. "Something about too many agents wanting to get married but that somehow, reassigning them didn't work out at all?"

Ramsey nodded when Chris reopened his eyes. "Yeah, the affidavits were created to protect both parties so that no one could coerce anyone into a sexual relationship. It started because good partnerships were being broken up because partners were falling in love with each other. The bureau figured if it worked, why break it and created the affidavits. Now, if the relationship goes south, both parties can request a new partner or reassignment more easily. Of course, reassignment is still the preferred action. You have to get special dispensation to sign the affidavits."

Chris nodded, nervously starring down into Ramsey's dark eyes, his fingers picked at imaginary lint off his lover's shirt. "So, you want to date me?"

Ramsey laughed, surging up to whisper in his ear. "Baby, I want to marry you."

All Chris could say to that was, "Oh." His fingers were still picking at the shirt under them but his eyes were now downcast, not meeting Ramsey's eyes for a moment. Ramsey almost panicked until Chris flirted with him by glancing at him through his lashes. "Are you asking right now?"

Ramsey brushed his smile against Chris' shy one. "Not right now. I thought I would give you time to get use to us before making it permanent. But, yeah, I will be asking."

Chris surprised him by leaning down and initiating their next kiss. "And I think I may be saying 'yes.'"


~*~*~*~*~


"So, what have we got?" Ramsey was barely through the door of the conference room before asking the question. Chris followed behind; close enough to be in his personal space. It did not go unnoticed by the other members of their team.

"Well," Alicia answered. "While you two were making out in your office, Benedict and Dylan solved the puzzle." She laughed as Ramsey predictably glared at her and Chris predictably blush bright pink.

Ramsey shook his head, willing to let them have their fun because he was quite honestly too happy to care. He merely glared a warning to keep the jokes low key and as least embarrassing to Chris as possible and then moved to sit down, sliding out the chair next to his for Chris. He turned to Benedict, knowing he'd be the safest one to ask. Dylan was bound to say something along the same lines as Alicia. Those two really were perfect for each other. "So what was the answer?"

"When the Game Master said 'the alpha and the omega were the most important part,' he meant the first and last letter of each word. The very last 'omega,' the last 'a,' as he said, is not important to the clue, so we leave that off." Benedict nodded to Dylan, who quickly brought up the list of words the clown had chanted up on the view screen. With a few quick keystrokes, their electronics expert bolded the first and last letters of each word.

Ramsey nodded, seeing the words the letters formed.

"Six three zero West Fifth Street," Chris read the next clue out loud only to frown. "Why does that address sounds familiar?"

"It should," Benedict answered, smiling. "You spent most of your time in college there writing your thesis. You always said it was quieter than the school's."

"The Los Angeles Public Library's main branch!" Chris grinned as the memory made itself clear.

"Correct me if I'm wrong." Ramsey flipped his watch around. "But isn't the library closed already?"

Chris checked the time as well, nodding. "Yeah, it is."

"Then let's call it a night." Ramsey grinned as the others sighed in relief. As they all stood, he caught the uncertain glance Chris threw him. He definitely couldn't have him questioning his choice. He caught Chris' hand, tugging him close. "Plans for tonight?"

Those lovely hazel eyes could not get any wider. "Uhm, no."

Ramsey grinned. "Would you like to have a late night snack with me? The kids and parents have been asking for you again." He turned his smile to all of them. "Actually, the invitation is extended to all of you. Mom's been huffing about how we didn't really get to finish our bar-b-que the other day and there's plenty of food at the house."

Dylan smiled but shook his head and patted his stomach. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks though."

Chris gasped dramatically. "Dylan's turning down food? Is it the end of the world?" He leaned back to stare at the ceiling expectantly. He laughed when Dylan swatted at him.

"Thanks, but maybe next time." Alicia covered her mouth with a hand to hide her yawn. "I just want to go home and sleep."

Ramsey smiled and nodded, patting her on the back as the group made their way to the elevators. "Ben?"

"I'd like a night cap." Benedict studied Ramsey. "You still wouldn't happen to have a free guest bedroom, would you? I think I may be too tired to drive home."

"Yes, and you are more than welcomed to it." Ramsey turned expectant eyes to the last, and most important, invitee. "Chris?"

Chris smiled shyly. "I need to swing by my apartment and get Thane, but yes, I'd like that."

TBC