Chapter Text
Victor hugged his satchel to his chest to try and calm himself as all three cars tore out of the garage.
“They’re tailing car 2,” Clark noted calmly.
“Take the side streets towards the docks.”
“The docks?” Amber eyes widened and met gray ones as they creased at the corners.
“We need to get you home without anyone seeing you. I have a business associate who...You’ll see.” The non-answer put him just a bit more on edge.
Nothing Aesop could have said would have prepared him for what they walked into at the docks. The office door the two walked through was unassuming- the contents of the office, not so much.
The small, blond man perched on the edge of the desk turned to regard them with a sharp gaze and an even sharper grin. His mismatched eyes sized Victor up as he hopped down and strode towards them, the colorful plumage of his suit swaying with the movement.
“Brace yourself,” Aesop sighed.
“My, Trickster- long time no see! What brings you out of your fortress of solitude?” Victor straightened as the man came closer to peer at him through his monocle.
“Is it because of this...cherub-faced man?” A look of excitement that the postman wasn’t sure he liked crossed his face.
“Is he for us?”
“Are you being polite to our guests, Mr. Swifts?” A deep voice drawled from behind them.
“Why would I be rude, Mr. Mole? Our favorite recluse is here with his...well, I don’t know what he is, but he’s nervous and it’s kind of charming.” Victor turned to peer at the other source of the voice. The man clad in gold and brown seemed the polar opposite of Mr. Swifts as he peered at him with a frown through the small, tinted glasses perched low on his nose.
“I’d be more concerned if he wasn’t.” The sneer he cast exposed a row of pointed teeth. Victor felt himself stiffen as Aesop shifted beside him.
“We have business to discuss,” his escort deadpanned. His attention shifted to Aesop as his smile grew.
“We do. Mr. Swifts?”
“Hmm?”
“Why don’t you entertain our new friend in the parlor? We won’t be long.” Victor tensed as the other blond man’s face lit up. Before he could move, a hand came to rest on his shoulder.
“Lie.”
Lie? A hand had come down to grasp his wrist before he was able to mull the word over. His gaze rose to the back of Mr. Swifts’ head as he began to tow him towards an unmarked door behind the desk. The two entered a lavish room and Victor found himself perched on an overplush armchair as the door clicked shut. Mismatched blue eyes peered down at him as he caught the outline of a curled grin.
“Oh, my, where are my manners? I never made the proper introductions!” With practiced showmanship, the small blond bowed at the waist and extended his hand.
“You can call me Mr. Swifts. What’s your name?” The single word that Aesop had muttered to him suddenly clicked. Victor brought his own hand out to shake the other man’s.
“Arnold…” He paused for half a second as he scrambled for a faux surname. A plant in the corner of the room caught his eye, “Palmer.” Gloved fingers lightly squeezed his as Mr. Swifts’ grin grew. He turned to move towards what Victor identified as a fully stocked bar set against the adjacent wall.
“Huh, interesting. Is that a family name?” He made a small sound of confirmation.
“I’m not the first to have it.” His host’s attention was back on him as he turned and leaned against the bar.
“I feel like you’ve had a long day. What’ll you have to drink?”
“Water is fine, thank you.” The other blond pursed his lip at him.
“Aw, that’s no fun! I’m actually working on my bartending skills; I was hoping to have a bit of practice. Would you mind if I mixed you something?”
I’ll say yes and take a sip to be polite. He offered a tense smile and nodded. Mr. Swifts’ smile was back as he slipped behind the bar and got to work.
“So, where did you and our dear Trickster meet?”
“Through work.” Not the truth but not exactly a lie. Mr. Swifts perked up as he poured a disturbingly green liquid into a cocktail shaker.
“Oh, really? Same! What do you do?” Victor offered a small smile at the other man’s enthusiasm as he scrambled to come up with another lie.
“I work in information.” Another very loose truth, but he was satisfied with it. A sudden swirl of color drew his attention as Mr. Swifts appeared before him with a sky blue drink in hand.
“I knew you were a smart one. I just know your opinion on this will help me a lot.” Victor reached for the glass, only to feel a pang of confusion as the blonde moved past his hand to press the glass to his lips.
“Here, drink up!” The glass was lightly but steadily pressed to his lips, making any attempts to pull away awkward as he wriggled in his seat. Eventually, he gave up and gulped down most of it, eyes burning from the strength of the drink. As soon as the glass was pulled away, he dissolved into a coughing fit, eyes slitting open to peer at the wide smile on Swifts’ face. A nauseating sweetness lingered on his tongue.
“I guess I was a little heavy-handed, huh? How’d it taste, anyway?”
“Like cotton candy,” Victor wheezed. Mr. Swifts nodded with an impish grin. A gloved hand came up to pinch his cheek before the blonde man pulled away. In the same apparent vein of thought, a heavy weight settled in his lap. He blinked down at the other man, who had settled there and was peering at him.
“I understand the intrigue.”
“Huh?” The impish grin that never seemed to leave his face grew.
“Well- Trickster doesn’t work with just anyone. I had to submit three references just to get a phone call.” He chuckled while side-eying “Arnold.”
“Yannow, you really are easy on the eyes.” Victor floundered as a hand pressed against his chest. “And firm. If you ever want side work…” Mr. Swift’s free hand came up to reach behind Victor’s ear. When he drew back, a square piece of paper was pinched between his fingers.
“Here’s my card.”
“We’re done here.” Victor blinked in surprise as Aesop’s voice cut through the air. Mr. Swifts didn’t budge from his spot as he turned to peer at the other two men from over his shoulder.
“So soon? Mr. Palmer and I were just getting to know each other.” The smaller blond hopped to his feet and made his way to Mr. Mole’s side. Victor dumbly clutched at the business card as he rose to his feet.
Uh oh. The room began to sway as he tried to regain his bearings. He managed to right himself and willed his legs to walk in a straight line as he wobbled towards the door. There was the slightest shift in Aesop’s expression as he nodded.
“Well, I appreciate you acting as host, Mr. Swifts.” Gray eyes shifted to Victor. “Are you ready to go, Mr. Palmer?”
“Y-yes…” Victor was content to trail behind the others as everyone filed out of the room- until he noticed that Aesop had lingered back to match pace with him.
“Are you alright?” He asked in a hushed voice. Victor nodded even as he felt himself sway slightly as he walked. He felt confident in the lie up until he drifted directly into the Trickster. That didn’t stop said lie from tumbling right out of his mouth.
“Y-esss…” The sigh that slipped from the other man didn’t escape him.
“Let’s just…get you home.”