The Camaleon Chronicals

[oZoneRanger]

Maria knew the routine well. Every morning she would spend an hour getting herself ready. She had learned to mix and match her closes so it never looked like she was wearing the same thing twice. She would put on just enough makeup on to accentuate her features, but not pass over into what her mother would call a "Zorra barata".

The one item always present in her daily collage of color and cloth, was a round Opal necklace, an old family heirloom, and the only thing she had managed to keep with her since she was a little girl. It was the size of a small coin and hung around her neck from a Platinum small link chain and rested between what she liked to call "her best weapons". Men were going to stare at them anyway, so she gave them an easy excuse to do so.

Before the elevator door opened, she knew who she would see. The two LPI security guards assigned to this part of Toronto station.

"Worthless perros" she though to herself. She didn't mind putting on a show, she had done so as a means of survival for so long it was second nature. But these two were worthless, less than worthless, they offered her nothing useful at all and she had to pass by them at least 5 times a day.

She adjusted her security badge into a strategic position above her left breast. Again giving the officers one more easy excuse to gawk at her assets.

The elevator door opened, and as if on cue, the officers where at the far end of the Hall, as they were everyday. The security station was right next to the elevator door, but they were always at the opposite end, clearly against regulations, when she arrived.
"They like to see me coming instead of going" she mused to herself.

She put on her best innocent but seductive smile, and gave them a walk her mother had made her practice over and over again. "You walk like this Hija Mia and no man will ever stop you". Her mother was right. Her strut down the hall was hypnotic.

As every other morning, in her left had she carried a small tray with 5 cups of coffee. Perfectly balanced, not a drop would spill, while it seemed that every other part of her was bouncing and giggling with just the right amount of movement to stay within a proper level of decor and not appear to cheap and within reach.
"You have to make men want you, but also make it clear that they can never ever have you". Again her mother had been on the mark once again.

They watched her walk towards them. Their eyes drooling with lust. The younger one would always look at the floor and try and steal a glance here and there. The old one, he had no problems with looking and letting her know that he was.

"Good morning Mr. Fife" she said to the older one, addressing him first as he was in charge. "Barney you look handsome this morning are you lifting weights" she said to the younger.

"Good morning Maria" they both said in unison and on cue. This was the best part of the elder officers day. The younger one, had never had a woman talk to him like she did, and was in a state of nervous perpetual blush when she was around.

"Here boys, I brought you some fresh coffee" she said handing over the cups one by one.

She knew what came next. The older one, Mr. Fife, handed his coffee over to Barney the younger officer.

"Sorry Maria, need to scan you ID, protocol you know"

"Why of course Mr. fife, scan me all you like" she said with a giggle as they thrust out her upper body just a few inches.

The hand held ID scanners worked from a range of 6 meters. But the older officer would always take her ID in his right hand, and press the scanner up against the security card with his left, thus forcing his right hand to press up against her exposed skin on her upper breast, his pinky finger he tracing a small circle on her skin.

She smiled and looked deeply into the old man.

"Everything in order Mr. Fife?" she said softly.. (one day I will put a knife into both of your eyes you old useless leach of a man) thinking this at the same time she asked her question.

" ahh...yes...yes Maria..everything is in order" The old man, removed his hand from her badge and grabbed the coffee from his underling who was staring at his shoes, his face flush with emotions he did not understand. The older officer had not even bothered to check the results on the scanner.

" You know, maybe one day.." putting her fingertips on the old mans flaccid chest and moving them downward a few centimeters.., "if dat thing don't work, you have to frisk me" said Maria with a picaresque smile, adding the final touch to her rouse.

With that, she walked off to the -icT- office leaving them behind to deal with their thoughts.

"Good bye boys" she said.
"Good bye Maria" said the two officers. When she was out of earshot. The older one turned to the younger. "See that...she wants me..I know it"
"Yea..*snort* looks like she does *snort*" said the red faced novice cop.


She reached the office and entered the security code.
"Good Morning Mr. Lafuente" she said " I brought you some fresh coffee." The man never seemed to leave the office. They had much more space than they needed.

A voice came over the intercom "Tain Maria..DelaFontain...please get it right someday."

She enjoyed toying with him like this. But today she though she would give him a break. She tapped a few keystrokes on her terminal to check for new messages.
She began to walk to his office "Sorry sir, I go home and practice in the mirror every night your name..but its difficult to say for a girl like me." She said as she put the 3 coffees on his desk, and sat down in the chair across the desk from him.

Phillip looked at her as she walked in. He wondered how it was she could look so pristine and new everyday.

"Any new transmissions?" asked Phillip. He had worked all night on shipping schedules and plotting out his next move and was at a loss as to what to do next.

"No sir..nothing..aiii nothing from Mr. JetRow" she said as she clasp her hand above her heart. "and nothing from the King of Gallia either."

"Damn.." he said " this is not good" he sat staring at his desk, unaware of her observing his every move.

A dead silence lingered in the air as Phillip was lost in thought.

"Mr. DelaFontaiiiin" she said, playing with his name just a bit more. " A king is like a woman, you have to give them more than they ask for if you want them to notice you" she said nonchalantly looking at her freshly done nails. " You could send him flowers of something maybe"

"Don't be silly Maria, I can't send the King of Gallia a basket of fruit and some flowers and expect that to get this deal done." He fumed at here naivety, becoming annoyed.

"Of course not sir, but you have much more office space here than you need, you have 4 floors you do not use." still looking at her nails "maybe they need some place to stay the night when they come here." She stopped with a flash in her eyes " Do you know if these Gallia people are good looking?" adding the last part to deflect just how smart her idea was.

He looked at her. "Im going to have to keep on eye on this one." He thought, she is not as much a pushover as she pretends to be. But he had to admit, she was right. He did have something more to offer these Gallia folks. He was a bit disappointed in himself for not having thought of it before.

"You know Maria" he stood up, pulled out his wallet and took 3000 Sirus credits from it. "You are right, Maria, I hate to admit it but it is true." handing over the credits to her he said. "Her take this, go out and buy yourself some nice things, we may need to travel soon, and I want you to look nice."

"WHAT YOU MEAN LOOK NICE" she stood up taking the money from his hand at the same time. " THIS " she gestured with her hands with a wild flare of motion "IS NOT NICE TO YOU? " she said as she spun around and let him take a good look and then started to walk out the door "Pinche cabron..you would not know nice if it bit you on the ass Mr.L A F U E N T E" Her voice trailing off, she had a smile on her face he could not see.

"I meant sophisticated Maria...sophisticated" answered back Phillip.

"SOPHISTICATED?...NOW YOU CALL ME STUPID..me cago en todos tus muertos you malparido..." her voice halted by the slam of the front office door. Her face still smiling.

Phillip smiled to himself. He was beginning to catch on to her act, and it didn't bother him one bit. She was turning out to be a nice addition to his staff of one.
He started to work on a new letter to the King of Gallia and waited to hear from Otis Jethro.

Unaware to both of them, the opal necklace around her neck had been a witness to everything.