Who: Charlie McGee and Luke Skywalker (possibly Padmé Amidala and Anakin Skywalker to join at some point) What: The acting CEO of Evil, Inc. meets the newest surprise of the Senior Partners. When: The morning following little!Luke's arrival Where: The Skywalker family's penthouse Rating: TBD Status: In Progress Notes: The first post is an AIM log. The rest will be finished via comments.
With the CEO of Wolfram & Hart currently away on business for who knew how long, a very surprised, very unprepared Charlie McGee suddenly found herself temporarily in charge of the most notorious, prestigious law firm in all of Los Angeles. Ironic, really, considering she was not a lawyer and the only experience she had with the law involved her on the wrong end of it. Yet the order had been handed down by the Senior Partners themselves and, apparently, nobody within the firm was willing to question their decision.
At least, not directly.
There were those who were trying to undermine her at most every turn, of course. Even though she had only been in charge for - quite literally - a day, already she had a handful who went out of their way to avoid her, or outright refused to acknowledge her presence. Charlie intended to deal with them, of course, but for now relied on the advice from those the Senior Partners had ordered to assist her, and let the mildly mutinous ones slide. Besides, at the moment, she had more important things to worry about than a couple of disgruntled employees who were pissed at her for a position she didn't even want, considering her first day on the job in an official capacity started out with quite a bang.
The night before, for no apparent rhyme or reason, Anakin Skywalker (or, Lord Vader as he was insistant people call him) had unleashed a small amount of wrath upon the building - and occupants - of the very firm where his wife was currently employed. And, to make matters worse, rather than attempt to calm her husband down, the former senator and diplomat had simply... left. Unfortunately, security cameras had malfunctioned during most of the incident, so all Charlie had to go on were eye-witness reports. Of course, when it came to noticing a quiet, reserved woman slipping away versus an angered Force-weilding virtual maniac attacking everything in sight, most people found their attention focused on the latter rather than the former. So, really, she had no idea why the woman had just walked away, or left a message shortly thereafter on Lindsey's voicemail stating she 'needed to have a word with him, away from the firm'.
Determined to find the answers she sought, Charlie decided to do as Padmé had requested and headed to the woman's penthouse for a chance to speak with her 'off the record'. Honestly, it was curiosity that was the driving factor behind her actions, much moreso than any loyalty felt toward the firm she was now in charge of. It just wasn't like Padmé Amidala to flee the scene, especially when Anakin was staying behind, without there being some logical explanation. The woman was hardly what anyone could consider a coward.
Sighing softly as she stepped off the elevator and onto the floor that housed their penthouse, the blonde glanced at the number she'd written on the palm of her hand that told her which door to knock on. Finding the appropriate door a moment later she knocked lightly, only belatedly wondering if anyone was even awake at such an early hour.
Indeed, it was probably a good question---was anyone awake at that moment? Well.. Luke was. He'd decided to treat his displacement as a sort of holiday, and was currently stretched out on his stomach on the carpet of the living room, the pieces of what had been a telephone spread around him. Feet waving in the air, dressed in an oversized tshirt that probably belonged to Anakin and a pair of shorts, he looked.. happy. It was an unusual look for the usually-solemn little boy.
At the sound of the knock, he hopped to his feet, stepping carefully around the mess of the phone and moving to the door. He was too short to reach one of the locks, so he nudged it with a screwdriver and pulled the heavy wooden door open.
Though his face was still bruised-up on one side, and his lip was starting to scab, he was obviously a cute kid when he didn't look like he'd been in a fight with a baseball bat. --The look in his eyes, however, upon seeing Charlie, was immediately suspicious. She was a stranger, after all.
"'Lo," he greeted carefully, staring up at her unblinkingly, quite unaware that he was doing it. "Who're you?"
Okay. Small boy answering the door? Not what Charlie had been expecting. At all. For a second all she could do was stare, blink, and try to figure out how she'd gotten the wrong penthouse even though she had personally read the number off Padmé's file and had it written on her palm just so she wouldn't forget.
To say that Charlie wasn't used to speaking to small children would be an understatement. Even when she'd been a child herself, she'd found it difficult. Not being allowed to go to school, or have friends, or even live in one place long enough to meet much of anyone, had severely hindered her ability to communicate with others her age. That, really, had been one the main reasons she'd left foster care at the age of ten and struck out on her own. Adults, she understood. The kids she was in foster care with? She hadn't a clue how to handle.
"Uh," she finally found her voice, "hi there. I'm Charlie. Um... who are you?"
"Luke," the blond boy responded, as if duh, she should've known that if she was knocking on his door. Though to be fair, he knew it wasn't really her fault. After all, he hadn't been living with his mom for long. ".. Are you here t' see my mom?" he added after a moment, and hesitantly stepped back to let her in, screwdriver still held tightly in his free hand. --If she made any funny moves, he'd.. well. He didn't know what he'd do, honestly, but he'd protect his mom for sure.
To be honest, he didn't know how to deal with people, either. He was surprisingly grown up for his age, sometimes, given the family situation he'd been in, and the planet he'd lived on. And then, at other times.. well. He could be just like any other ten-year-old boy. He was, as the older version of himself had said, a weird kid.
"She's kinna' busy right now," he was saying as he closed the door behind Charlie, fidgeting with his tshirt as if he could hide the hand-shaped bruises on his arms. --Stuff like that was always embarrassing, a little. "I guess you c'n siddown or something while you're waitin'."
Luke. This was Luke? Since when had Luke Skywalker gone from a full-grown man to a small, bruised and battered, child? Nodding at his question, she stepped inside the penthouse on legs that felt positively numb. Her gaze went to the mess that had once been a telephone, then back to the boy, trying to figure things out without asking so many questions that she frightened him.
She noticed the bruises but didn't comment on them. Obviously, if Padmé was his mother, she wasn't the one responsible for them, nor was Anakin. Which meant clearly Luke had gotten those through some other means. That was a good thing, she decided as she made her way to the couch and sat down. She really didn't want to have to burn this place to the ground and semi-adopt some kid just because she'd accidentally stumbled across an abusive situation.
Clearing her throat, glancing toward the closed door she assumed was the bedroom his parents must share (and guessing they were still in bed, sleeping), she turned to face Luke and asked carefully, "Were you at the building that, um, Lord Vader partially destroyed, yesterday?" She had almost said 'your father' but had luckily changed her mind at the last second. She didn't know if he was aware of that little fact yet and wasn't about to be the one to break the news to him. She would rather not evoke the wrath of a pissed off Sith Lord if she could help it.