Corvo is (dishonored) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-01-20 00:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, corvo attano, elizabeth comstock |
Good morning, Miss Comstock.
Who: Corvo and Elizabeth
What: Bodyguard introductions
When: Recent
Where: Elizabeth's
Status: complete
Rating: PG-13
Corvo had almost turned the job down. He didn’t typically do the full time protective detail, but the agent had been very convincing, and the incentives were nice. It was also well timed. He was recently back from overseas, and wouldn’t be leaving the country for months at the earliest. He needed the time to relax, and recover from the usual ordeal.
He knew what Elizabeth looked like, and he’d done some research on his own, google being very enlightening. He knew her schedule, and Corvo being Corvo, knew how to get into places he shouldn’t.
Granted, this time he had a key, but the point was it wasn’t necessary.
So a well dressed man in a navy suit was sitting at Elizabeth’s dining room table, reading a newspaper.
An actual news paper.
Corvo preferred digital media, but he wanted to make an impression. “Good morning, Miss Comstock. I ran a security check this morning, there was an attempt to bug your car, three paparazzi parked across the street and one credible threat to kidnap you that’s been eliminated.”
He hoped she’d been informed.
Elizabeth had woken up blissfully oblivious to any of the crap going on in her life. It wasn't that she didn't know that the paparazzi were chasing her and men were trying to kidnap her: She definitely did, especially recently. Her father would stop at nothing to have her locked away in his mansion again.
But she'd had a good dream, woken up on the right side of the bed, and was determined to forget about her troubles. At least until they were sitting at her dining room table, reading the newspaper.
She'd been dancing along to the music in her earbuds when she'd come in, and the sight of him had stopped her in her tracks. No one'd told her there'd been a change in her security, and she swallowed back some kind of response to his words. Mainly because oh no, he's hot was echoing around in her brain and she was scared she'd say exactly what she was thinking.
Pulling one earbud out of her ear, she nodded her head slowly for a moment. "...And how did you eliminate this threat?"
Corvo looked up at her, raising his eyebrow as she danced into the room. He’d wanted to catch her in a candid moment, and this was certainly candid. The first thing he noticed were sparkly blue toenail polish, and the fuzzy rainbow pants with the words “DANCE PARTY” on the butt. Her hair was up in a loose pony tail, with random strands falling into her face and neck, and she wore a thin, belly exposing tank top. It exposed … other things too. “You should consider raising the thermostat.”
Rule number 1: Do not be attracted to the client. This was going to be a tough one.
"You should consider warning people before you just show up at their dining room tables," Elizabeth countered, noting that he hadn't answered her question at all. She pulled out the other earbud and tossed her iphone onto the table while trying to decide how infuriated she wanted to be about all of this.
It wasn't likely that the potential kidnappers were currently half dead and stashed in her bushes, but Elizabeth didn't like the man's demeanor. "You're on my payroll, as far as I can tell. That means when I ask a question I expect an answer to it." Her tone was every bit as annoyed and prickly as she felt, and she stomped into the nearby kitchen to get herself some coffee while muttering, "I didn't agree to this."
“I did, you should check your emails first thing,” Corvo replied. If he was wearing sunglasses he would have pulled them down over his nose and there was that sort of demeanor to his expression anyway. By some miracle, he didn’t actually stare at her chest.
He started to fold the newspaper, taking his time as he did so. Once it was folded, and placed it on the table, he answered her question. “He was going to ambush you on the way to the elevator with chloroform. I used it on him and left him tied up in the security office.”
"Checking emails isn't in my morning routine." Elizabeth poured herself some coffee and turned towards the fridge, trying not to notice how deliberately he folded up the paper. The motion was hot as hell. This man was completely in control of the current situation, and himself. That was supposed make her feel more secure, probably. "I don't really do anything before I have some of this."
And she held up her coffee mug, before pouring so much cream and sugar into it that most coffee lovers would have cringed. "So you just left him in the security office? Aren't you going to call the police?"
“It should be,” Corvo suggested. He leaned forward, folding his hands on the table and studying her with a critical eye. If he felt anything about the cream and sugar, he didn’t react. He was glad he was practiced at playing it cool. Rule #1. Rule #1.
“I was thinking of leaving him there forever.”
"Doesn't he need to eat, eventually? Go to the bathroom? What if he pees all over their floor? What if he dies in there and then the whole security office smells like dead people?" Elizabeth asked, while arching a brow. She looked particularly disgusted at the last prospect, though it wasn't clear if that was due to the thought of the smell or the thought of someone dying.
"Are you going to keep emailing me? Is that why I need to check it every morning?" She asked, arching a brow and sipping at her coffee. It had a little too much sugar in it, but she did her level best to stay cool and collected instead of making some kind of ghastly face. "You can't just give me morning updates and curdle the cream in my coffee with that glare of yours?"
“I left him a stale bagel.” Corvo grimaced. “I hate bagels, they’re circular lies.” Therefore they were the perfect torture meal.
“And yes, I’m going to email you. And text you. Maybe even leave you voicemails. You do check your voicemails, right? I know it’s ancient, like a fax. But if you’d prefer your updates in person, that can be arranged.”
"I..." Elizabeth trailed off, then darted her eyes off to the side. It was embarrassing, but she hadn't grown up around electronics the way that most girls her age had. If her coffee maker wasn't programmed to make it for her every morning she was certain she'd have broken it by now.
She set her coffee maker down on the counter and reached for a nearby orange, carefully peeling it so that she could focus her attention on anything but him. "I have a hard time with my phone. Updates in person might go better now that I know to expect you."
For a moment he thought she was reaching for a banana, and if she had he’d know she was fucking with him. That was in her profile, she had the potential to be a troll. Then again, so did he. The technophobe thing was also in her profile.
“I’ll show you a few tricks, but if you’re more comfortable I can brief you every morning.” Damn. Now he wanted a banana.
"I can't always expect that you'll be here in the morning to brief me," Elizabeth decided, after chipping away a few more pieces of orange peel. "You might, after all, be very busy force feeding a bagel of lies to some prisoner of yours."
She didn't even particularly like oranges, but now that it was nearly peeled she shrugged a shoulder and went to get a plate to section it out onto. While she was at it, she went for the whipped cream. Oranges were better when dipped in cool whip. "You should show me some tips. It's a brand new phone and I admit I bought it just because it seemed... appropriate for someone like me to have a fancy cell phone like that. I'm not even sure my email is on it."
It was. The store employee had even helped her transfer all of her contacts onto it. But Elizabeth was awful with technology, and she really had no idea.
“I’ll just have to leave you a voicemail,” Corvo replied. “In the event I’ll be late or not here.”
He gestured for her to take a seat, even though it was her table, and she had every right to sit. It seemed like the polite thing to do. “If an old coot like me can manage a phone, a young lady like you can.”
"I've just never been that comfortable with technology. My..." Elizabeth trailed off, then wrinkled her nose up and shook her head. "We didn't have that many mechanical things in the house. I didn't get my own phone until I moved out. It drove my old agent crazy, I think. Every time he wanted to contact me he had to call my father's office."
She grabbed her coffee, tossed her oranges on a plate, and tucked the tub of whipped cream under her arm. Then she walked back to the table and took a seat in the chair he gestured to. This new bodyguard had an air of authority and it was hard not to feel intimidated by it. "I managed to get music working on it, but that's... about it. Orange section?"
“Please.” He plucked one of the orange sections and sucked it into his mouth. Then he got up, walked over and leaned across her to show her how to access her voicemail.
It wasn't just the voicemail she needed help with, and Elizabeth didn't even need to find excuses to sit there, practically scooped up into his arms while he leaned around her to point out various tips and tricks. Before she knew it, twenty minutes had passed like that. Elizabeth's pulse was racing by then, and not because learning to use her phone was particularly titillating.
She tried not to giggle when she finally said, “I’m sure I’m going to forget all of this again in a few days. This isn’t the first time someone’s tried to instruct me.” But maybe this time the instructions would stick, because she had an extremely attractive teacher.
Or maybe they wouldn’t, for the same reason.
If Corvo was honest with himself, he'd admit he didn't have entirely selfless reasons. Elizabeth was attractive and her proximity reminded him of better days. It wasn't like he was trying to seduce her on purpose, or anything. While it was a nice thought, he knew better. Plenty of more eligible men out there for a lady like Elizabeth.
"Maybe you just needed a more hands on approach."
Elizabeth looked up at him and bashfully tucked some loose hairs behind her ear. "I... Maybe I did, yes." She decided not to mention how many times she'd had someone else explain things to her using the exact same approach. Maybe this time would be different, or maybe she just really liked having an excuse to draw Corvo closer. It was absurd, if she thought about it at all. She'd just met him. She'd yelled at him, and he was probably old enough to be her father.
Still, she couldn't help the fact that there were butterflies in her stomach. "I'm supposed to trust you with my life, so we should get acquainted."
“I’m Corvo Attano,” he replied, starting with the basics. He took one of her hands and kissed the knuckles, before moving back to his original seat. “You’re my sole client for the moment, part of the deal reached for your agent. I might still help other people, but it would be on a case by case basis. My job is to ensure you’re safe, while disrupting your life as little as possible. I also make a really good omelette.”
"And... you already know who I am. Aside from wishing that you mentioned the omelette thing earlier, because that sounds delicious. I... escaped my father, who is extremely angry with me. He's also angry he can't profit off of my career anymore and has no say in its direction. I just released a record, and you should know that there are going to be a lot of public appearances about it. I'm also planning a tour for next year, which I think may be a security nightmare at the moment." Elizabeth admitted all that, while taking occasional sips of her coffee and completely ignoring her oranges.
Her knuckles were still tingling from where he'd kissed them, and she wanted nothing as badly as she wanted him to hold her hand in his again. She was extremely glad she didn't wear any of those gadgets that could betray how quickly her heart was racing.
Security nightmares he could handle. In some ways he thrived on it. The hardest part would be keeping his own anonymity in the process, and that wasn’t even that hard. He’d never shown his face in any of his missions.
Still, better to be safe than sorry. Corvo would work with however he needed to work, to make this work.
“I studied up on your father. He’s a piece of work, and a hypocrite.” He tossed an orange slice in his mouth. “Say the word, I can blackmail him off your back.”
His eyes twinkled, “Or kill him.”
"Uhm." Elizabeth stared at him, uncertain if he was joking or serious, though from what she'd seen of the man so far he was always serious. There was a dark place inside of her that nearly jumped at the idea of having her Father killed, and another piece of her that wanted to do it herself instead of outsourcing it.
She blinked her eyes a few times, pausing to take a very deliberate sip of coffee, and then shook her head. "I should be above all of that. And if he was killed I almost want it to be my hands around his neck. But you... didn't hear that. Why did I even say that."
Clearly there was no love lost between them. Aside from the fact that her father haunted every waking moment - and some of her nightmares as well - she tried not to think about him at all. That part of her life was supposed to be over.
“He’s hurt you,” Corvo guessed. He wouldn’t say how, or even guess. Not without enough information. But a man like Comstock? Corvo wouldn’t put it past him to rise to the level of physical abuse. Emotional abuse was bad in its own way though, and sometimes worse.
“It’s healthy to want to lash out. Everyone has dark thoughts. Just not everyone acts on them. But I’m not a psychologist.”
Corvo got to his feet. Part of him didn’t want to go, but there were things he needed to do. “Ms. Comstock, if you’ll give me your itinerary for the day, I’ll make sure everything is clear. I’ll usually be nearby, or have someone I trust nearby. Would you like me to meet you here tonight, or debrief you tomorrow morning?”
"My agent has my itinerary for the day, I'll have them email it to you." Elizabeth said, glad for the subject change. She wasn't as happy to see him go, but at least he was there to stay and wouldn't be that far away.
A moment was taken to finish her coffee, one that - while he was still waiting for her response - gave her another few moments in his presence. Then she got to her own feet, and folded her arms over her chest. "I'll see you tonight. We can discuss how it went, since this is your first day on the job." There might be security holes he wanted to point out to her, or changes he wanted to make to her schedule for the next few days. Anything was possible, and of course there was the bonus that she'd see him again that evening.
Corvo nodded at her. He seemed like the kind of man, if he’d been born centuries ago, to give a sweeping bow. Instead, he started for the door once she’d finished speaking. He paused there, turning to look at her. “Eight?”
"Eight." Elizabeth agreed. She glanced over at the clock, and tried not to count all the hours between then and now.