Work Text:
Diego was headed over to the radio station to hand in a piece he'd done about non-existent earthquakes so that Kevin could edit it and have it checked by Strex before using it in his show. He had just climbed the stairs and turned towards the recording booth when he saw someone fall to the ground.
A man was stood over Kevin and had hit him with a coffee mug so that he was now on the ground. The intruder smashed the mug and began to slash at the radio host's skin.
There was no time to think. He looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon, anything marginally sharper than his own nails. He felt his own pocket and his hand grasped and illegal but graciously useful pen. He grabbed it in a fist and pulled it out, plunging it into the back of the attacker's neck. The grim man turned around, eyes blue but maddened with rage. Again, without even contemplating the consequences he thrust the pen into the madman's throat and pulled it out. He fell to the ground coughing, choking on his own blood, the fresh stuff spattering over the older décor. Diego ran over to Kevin's side and put his hand over the largest gash in the radio host's side. Then he stopped. He looked around, across at the man who had slid down the wall and all but stopped breathing. He doesn't know why he did it, Kevin was bleeding out, but he did. He stood, went over to the one who was just minutes ago stood over the radio host wielding a knife and put his hands on the side of his face. He looked into the other's face, moved to stand behind him, wrapped his arm around his head and twisted. The snap was… definite.
He walked back over to Kevin whose eyes were glazed over, though his constant smile remained. He was just barely breathing, and Diego finally came to his senses and called an ambulance.
"Vanessa!" He yelled, hoping she hadn't yet gone home. "Vanessa!" She came in and her eyes widened as she saw her boss laying limp on the floor. She rushed over and helped Diego stem the bleeding until the paramedics arrived. They lifted Kevin up onto a stretcher and took him out of the building, over to Desert Bluffs General Hospital. He was left standing there, even more blood soaked than was usual for Desert Bluffs and with his senses dulled by his confusion. It was in this confusion that he began to leave the radio station, naively believing he would walk away from this and be the same as he was before it all happened. He hadn't even reached the door to the stairs when someone reached out and took hold of his arm. He didn't recognise the face, but it was obvious the man was a Strexcorp employee. A cloth was pressed to his face, and he only took a few breaths before he was out cold.
Diego woke up in a room with no apparent doors or windows. In fact, the room had no features at all. Just four walls, grey and featureless. Unlike in all the movies he'd seen, Diego fully remembered how he'd got there. He wasn't wearing his own clothes, instead he wore a long sleeved white shirt with a charcoal waistcoat, the like of which he'd always admired but never been able to afford. His trousers matched the waistcoat and fitted him perfectly. It made him wonder how long Strex had been planning this, and when they had taken his measurements.
He didn't wonder for long because soon a spot of wall' which previously had no hinges' swung open and in stepped a man, similarly dressed as himself, although with a much brighter colour scheme. He smiled, and it managed to be even more unsettling than the usual smile of Strexcorp employees.
"Good evening, Mr Garcia. Or can I call you Diego?" The man laughed, forcedly,and Diego simply nodded. "Good. Now, Diego, we at Strexcorp are aware of the events at the radio station earlier today." At least that proved he hadn't lost too much time. "We have a proposition for you."
Diego frowned, an expression which always earned him chastisement from his neighbours in Desert Bluffs.
"The man you killed today was someone who- how can I put this? He worked against productivity in a way which hadn't gone unnoticed by Strexcorp management. We knew about his vendetta against Kevin, but we didn't know what lengths he was prepared to go to. Kevin is a valuable asset," he coughed. "Excuse me. As I was saying, Kevin is a valuable employee and has could definitely see him… going places." Diego couldn't really see where he was going with this. He just waited for the man to continue.
"You saved his life today. He's a little damaged, but he'll be fine. The thing is, Kevin's attacker had accomplices in many of his other misdeeds. Our proposition is that you come work for us, in an official capacity, as a Strexcorp scientist. We would also ask that you keep an eye on Kevin, and alert us if you think there may be another attempt on his life." The man's smile grew wider, wider than Diego thought humanly possible. The idea that he wasn't human crossed his mind, but then he was being handed a clipboard with a contract on it (apparently the ban on paper and pens doesn't apply to big wigs in Strexcorp). He looked at the other, brighter man and considered his options. He didn't really think he had any. At this point, pretty much everyone in Desert Bluffs was controlled by Strex anyway, and the salary on that contract looked extremely generous. He picked up the pen and signed the papers. The pen was then swiftly taken away (he couldn't really blame them) and he was handed a lab coat, pristine yellow fabric shaped to cover his new and very expensive looking clothes.
"Wait here for a while. A car will be summoned to drive you home." The man left, the door resumed its former status as a wall, and Diego was stood wondering what he'd gotten into and just why Strexcorp couldn't have just put a security detail on Kevin. Why did they need to hire a new scientist and then ask him to be a bodyguard/ informant? Surely they already knew all the goings on in the town?
The questions buzzed in his brain, and as a scientist it bugged him that he couldn't answer any of them.
It wasn't long before the door opened and a man came in holding a piece of black fabric that looked alarmingly like a blindfold.
"It's just a security precaution." The man said, tying the cloth around Diego's head and covering his eyes. Diego wasn't sure why he didn't fight it, but he didn't, and soon he was being lead out and into the open air. He was put in a car and then began driving. About half an hour later he was told he could take off the blindfold. It was dark, and they were just about reaching the radio station. Diego was glad there wasn't a bloodrain storm tonight. The driver stopped the car and asked for a destination, although he likely knew Diego's address already.
"I want to go to Desert Bluffs General Hospital." He said, with as much confidence as he could muster.
"I imagine visiting hours will be over now, sir." The man advised. He was right, but there was no way he could simply go home and sleep. He had to talk to Kevin, because as much as the man had freaked him out since he got here, he had just killed for him, and that probably meant his crush on Kevin ran a little deeper than he knew.
"Take me to the hospital." He said, and the driver complied.
"Yes, Dr Garcia."
"Just Mr, not a doctor." He clarified.
"I was told by management to call you Doctor- so that must be your title now. Congratulations on your phd." The man said, before quickly apologising for his attitude. Diego stopped him mid apology to ask a question.
"Do you drive a lot of people around?" He asked.
"I have done, but now I'm assigned to you. I don't remember the others, Strexcorp made sure of that, but I know that there were others. I can't tell you anything about them." It sounded rehearsed, like he said the same thing all the time.
"So you're going to drive me around?" He asked, incredulously. The driver nodded. "Oh, then you can probably call me Diego. I hate my last name, anyway."
The rest of the drive to the hospital was quiet. The town looked so dark at night, bloodstains adding to the shadows of houses and businesses. When they arrived, Diego got out and went to the thank his driver before realising he hadn't even asked his name.
"Sorry, I didn't catch your name." He said, which was a ridiculous but polite way of asking his name.
"Matthew, sir."
"Oh, well thank you Matthew." Matthew nodded curtly and turns off the engine.
"I'll wait out here, shall I sir?" He asked. Diego didn't quite know whether he wanted to go home, but he also didn't know if they would let him into see Kevin.
"When do I start work?" He asked, assuming Matthew would know.
"They're giving you a day to recover and then you're expected at the lab on Thursday."
"Okay, I think I'll stay here for a while. You can go home if you like." Matthew hesitated then agreed.
"I'll come and pick you up at 8 from your apartment on Thursday. Good night, sir."
"Night Matthew." He said. Matthew drove away.
Diego took a moment before going into the hospital. A woman at reception was about to stop him, but he flashed his very new credentials and she ducked her head in apology. Then he had a flash of inspiration.
"Where is Kevin being kept?" He asked, standing up as straight as he knew how. There was no need to use his last name, everyone knew Kevin.
"Room 207, sir." It was strange how everyone was calling him sir, now. Almost like no one even recognised him as the Diego from a few hours ago.
He made his way to 207, and just before he went in his confidence faltered. What if Kevin was angry? Or afraid? He wouldn't want him to be scared of him. What if it all went wrong, and Kevin wouldn't talk to him so he couldn't report to Strex? What would they-No. He stopped his train of catastrophic thinking and opened the door before he had chance to change his mind. Kevin looked over at him. For a brief second, before he had a chance to alter himself for appearances, he wasn't smiling. And Diego found himself enjoying his not smiling more than he should. But then he did smile, and it was genuine smile and that was better than hours of Kevin's work smile.
"Hey. You look different." Kevin said, trying to sit up. Diego rushed over.
"No, no, no. Don't sit, stay still you'll aggravate your wounds." He said, moving so that Kevin could keep eye contact with him without too much effort.
He then proceeded to tell Kevin all about his night and his new position in Strexcorp. Well, almost all about it. He left out the part where he was told to spy on Kevin, but he didn't think it would be prudent to tell him that part. Then Kevin thanked him, graciously. And it was while he was being thanked so honestly that he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Kevin's lips. He blushed adorably.
"Get some rest. I'll still be here to thank when you wake up." He said, smiling. He hoped that would turn out to be true.