It takes a moment for him so snap out of it; he realises the long glance Adelia is giving him, though doesn’t quite know why. Personal perceptions are out of place now, they need to get going and try to stay alive; he surely hasn’t meant it personally when he talked about her charms - though, frankly, he has to admit she is an attractive woman. Thoughts he isn’t allowed to have, of course, since he is her superior.
Her words, however, leave him completely flabbergasted. He nearly misses his entry, though his gaze is on Adelia the entire time.
Swiftly, however, Mallory manages to come forward, away from their hiding place, and over to her and the poor man who is serenaded. He almost feels sorry when he grabs a shovel that has been carelessly leaned against the wall, and hits it against the chef’s head. The man doesn’t stand a chance, drops to the ground like a bag of potatoes.
Pleased, Mallory nods his head to himself, his gaze shifting back up meet Adelia’s. “Do I want to know what you meant earlier?” An eyebrow rises. Now is not the time to elaborate on such things, though, is it?
He bends down and picks up the chef’s feet to pull him into the tent and out of sight. They need to work quickly; who knows how many people are around - and when they will show up.
“I suppose I don’t have a choice…” Mallory mutters to himself, while already taking his jacket off, revealing the suspenders fully now. Changing into the clothes of the chef; oh, the things that have to be done for this job.
==========================
Slipping behind the waitress, Adelia quietly chokes the woman into unconsciousness before carefully dragging her into the catering tent, to gently lie her on the ground.
It isn’t often that Adelia feels it is appropriate to thank God, but on this occasion, she feels she must thank someone, anyone at least, for a placement of a mirror in the catering tent, one that allows her to keep her back turned to Mallory whilst she unashamedly watches him quickly change into the chef’s uniform. Without doubt it is one of those moments where she wishes time would pass more gradually, so she could appreciate the sight in slow motion, perhaps even with some accompanying music, though quite what kind of tone or beat would best accompany such a delectable sight, she isn’t quite sure. Something to dwell on in bed tonight she supposes, if they make it out of this alive. She has never seen Mallory this reckless, working in a situation so utterly unplanned and frankly the sight is thrilling; perhaps her fun-loving, laissez-faire attitude is finally rubbing off on him a little. There is a part of her that knows, of course, that any innuendo may be considered inappropriate, but quite frankly such thoughts, in the past, have only led to fantasies of M washing her dirty mouth out, while her hands are bound behind her back, wrapped in his suspenders, so really what hope does she have?
Realising she’s been so caught up in her thoughts she still hasn’t yet changed clothes with the waitress, she hastily moves to swap clothes with the woman.
“Do you really want to know what I meant earlier?” She asks, repeating M’s question playfully, as she boldly steps in front of him to blatantly strip down to her smalls, making a damn show of it whilst at the same time acting as if this glimpse of bare, fair, unblemished skin is absolutely normal. A brassiere is only a brassiere after all, however delicately the intricate ivory lace frames her ‘assets’.
“Well…” Easing up the side-zip of the black skirt, she carefully does up the buttons of her white blouse, before slipping her stolen gun into the back of her waistband. “…let’s just say, if we both make it out of this alive, it may offer me the opportunity to make my meaning more explicit…something for us both to look forward to, hmm?”
The entire operation happens so fast, Mallory barely manages to notice how Adelia is doing. Apparently, however, she is doing quite well on her side, as evident once he leans back into his seat, panting. Not that he would ever doubt her – she is a very skilled agent, knows what she is doing. Frankly, he trusts her with his life – though he would never admit it to her, or anyone else for that matter.
His mouth drops closed when he suddenly feels her hand on him. Eyes wide for a moment. He doesn’t know what to think of this, really, the soft way she is smoothing his tie and hair, the warm touch of her fingers as she wipes some blood from his cheek. Still flabbergasted, he watches her, but then follows Adelia out of the car and into hiding. This is wrong, he knows. They are supposed to call for back-up, leave this place and reassemble. But on the other hand, it might take too long for anyone to come to their aid. Until then Blofeld might already be gone.
A scoff is breathed out. “Don’t set your hopes too high just yet, Miss Lennox,” Mallory warns her while his gaze is still trained on the staff. “I might know my way around guns and counter attacks…but I’m hopeless in a kitchen.” He shakes his head. Any meal he has ever tried his luck on, ended in disaster. Some things just aren’t for him. “The soldier in me says, wait. Wait for back-up,” he muses. The Lieutenant Colonel, however, knows what they might lose if they hesitate.
He cranes his neck to be able to see over the wall. “I hate to say this, and I don’t mean to offend you…but you could use your…” Mallory glances at Adelia, studying her for a moment, “well, feminine charms to distract one from the staff, and I knock him out.”
=======================
Adelia falls silent as she watches M study her for a moment and while she would never dare admit it, she finds it utterly enjoyable to be the centre of his attention, if only briefly. He is not staring lewdly, definitely not, but he is casting his gaze over her with an undeniably appraising eye; perhaps that is why his words now have her smiling like the cat that got the cream. Pausing, she takes a moment to return the favour, allowing her line of sight to comb across M from top to toe, unashamedly, her gaze lingering on the glimpse of suspender she’s flashed beneath his jacket…the utter tease.
“Feminine Charms…” She repeats with an amused smile – Gareth Mallory; ever the gentleman.“I’m so glad you finally noticed them.” She grins, basking in the moment a little too obviously as she moves to stand to tighten her blouse and smooth down her skirt.
“After all, I have been flaunting them at you for weeks M. I was beginning to think I was wasting my time.”
Dropping that little bombshell, making it quite unclear if she is being entirely serious, Adelia swiftly moves forward with an extra sway in her step and within seconds gains the target’s attention. A warm smile here, a brief touch to the chest there and the spell is cast; even a conversation about the highly changeable weather is enough to have the man entirely focussed on her, captivated by the ‘fuck me’ eyes she’s giving him; a tactic she’s witnessed Bond deploy on many occasions. With her hands folded neatly behind her back, she covertly gestures for M to make his move and sneak up from behind, so he can drag the target into the catering tent while it’s still empty, hopefully leaving Adelia to deal with the waitress who is over in the corner struggling to move an ice sculpture.
