We Float

Who: Del Ethier and Tom Sturbridge
What: Transcript of the first broadcast of the Wild Card Underground radio show. (Well, the beginning of it. We didn't actually try to write a whole show.)
When: Monday, July 12 (Backdated)
Where: Anhalt Building
Status: Log, Complete

( START TRANSCRIPT )

Who: Mickey and Ganesh
When: Sunday, July 11
Where: the Anhalt, walking
What: Ganesh meets Mickey, conversation ensues
Rating: PG
Status: completed log

( Of all the voices in Char's head, the one Ganesh was the most curious about was Mickey. )

Who: Tereska Wassenbach and Katherine Athena
What: There's been a death in the family. And someone needs to explain.
When: (forward-dated) July 9, late at night
Where: Katherine's home
Status: Open; in progress

"Do you want a drink?" Katherine said, dispensing with the niceties altogether as Tereska entered the hall. Her voice was an ugly, dead thing, not much more than a husk of the one that had left the message earlier. Tereska's letter was sitting on the table, pinned down by a bottle of Bart's scotch. It was the kind of alcohol Katherine never touched.

The bottle was half-empty. It hadn't all been him.

Her fingernails rattled as she tapped them against her glass, walking back to the table and pouring a very small amount in the bottom. Just enough to color it.

Who: Tereska Wasserbach and Bart Allen
When: Wednesday July 7, evening
Where: The Westin, Seattle
What: Tereska does some risk management
Status: Narrative; complete
Warnings: R for described violence and implicit murder.

i. security
Security cameras made it harder. Maybe.

A smile - a rare expression for her - flickered across Tereska's face as she methodically and carefully blanked the security cameras on Bart's floor. Money made an excellent companion to any effort to remove risks, and she'd bought the information that no one monitored the cameras at this hour; active monitoring waited for when there was more traffic in the hallways.

The cameras went off, and she crouched easily, biting through the doorknob and spitting it out into a bag - no sense in leaving DNA behind. She could eat metal, but it didn't do a lot for her.

There wouldn't be a camera in the room. In case, she had another blank-bomblet ready for it, but what they did on the sly in the love hotels wouldn't play on the top floor of the Westin.

The love hotels didn't supply the snuff trade, after all.

( In a way, she's disappointed. )

Who: Del Ethier and Tom Sturbridge
When: Tuesday July 6, evening
Where: The Radio Room
What: Del and Tom discuss the show
Status: log/complete

( It'd be like... radio masturbation. )

Who: Tom Sturbridge and Char Meadows
When: July 6, 2096
Where: Outside Anhalt
What: Just talking
Status: Closed, Complete


Tom sat on the front steps, contemplating the lawn. Someone needed to mow it, but he wasn't sure if they had a mower.

He heard the door open behind him and glanced over his shoulder. A girl he's seen around but never spoken to. "Do you think Ganesh could build a lawn-mowing robot?" he asked with a grin.

Who: Gabe Wilder, Zadkiel Thrush, and Avinoam
When: July 4, 2096
Where: Primarily the streets near Anhalt
What: Gabe produces an Avinoam who decides to pay Zadkiel a visit. Then Gabe comes to find them, and fireworks ensue in more than one sense.
Status: Log, Complete


It had been Julie's call that sparked it. And the look that Sean had given him when he flipped on his cell phone and started talking- or gotten a talking to. His stomach had begun to clench almost immediately at the sound of her voice, the uncertainty about where they stood causing it to roll and tighten.

Gabriel said almost nothing as the call went on. "Yeah." "No." "Yeah." "I didn't mean." "I'm sorry." "Yeah." Nothing that deserved the sharp click of the receiver on the other end, the one sound that reminded him so much of his mother that his eyes watered. The hang-up on the other end of the line.

His father came up behind him.

"That her?"

Gabe nodded.

"Give me your phone." Gabe hesitated. Sean continued. "I said. Give me your fucking phone." Reluctantly, the younger man handed it over. With a short, brusque motion, Sean slammed it against the shop counter so hard that small pieces of plastic went flying. Gabe's mouth dropped open. "You give her this number, I'll cut your fucking balls off, son." The pressure in Gabe's stomach released as his father grunted, walking silently into the stockroom without another look.

He didn't bother to see what self he'd called. It wasn't worth it.

( It was the fourth of July. )

Who: the Athena family - Katherine, Caio, Isa, and Rafe - as well as Bart Allen
What: Katherine wants to tell her family that she's going to go public with her wild card. The entire experience is made of failure.
When: Thursday (ish), June 30 to Monday, July 5 (the time scale on this is relative)
Where: Katherine's home, her office, then her parents' home
Status: Closed; complete

“You don’t have to pack my clothes, Kat. That’s why you hired Consuelo.” Bart’s voice was as it always had been, like a warm blanket wrapped over her shoulders. “Don’t be stubborn.”

“I gave her the week off.”

“It can wait. I’m in Beijing Tuesday for a week.”

“I know.” Her fingers wrapped the cord around themselves. “It’s on your calendar.” A slight hitch in her breath, followed by silence on the other end for a moment.

“Kat-“ The pause grew.

“What?”

“Nothing. Don’t be so stubborn.”

“You already said that.”

“I know. Good night.” He hung up the phone first. He always had.

( It's about my career. )

Who: Alec Tremont and Ganesh Surendar
When: Sunday afternoon, July 4
Where: The Server Room
What: IM transcript. Yes, they IM each other from within the same room. They discuss kittens and fireworks, and then Alec gives Ganesh dating advice. About Del. (Yeah, Alec isn't sure how that happened either.)
Status: Log, Complete

( There is no possible way for a duck to kill you. NONE. )

Who: Del Ethier and Zadkiel Thrush
When: Early Morning, Thursday, July 1 [Backdated]
Where: The park and then the car
What: Del takes Zadkiel to tai-chi, then tries to talk to him afterward.
Status: Log, Complete

( So what did you think? )

Who: Zadkiel Thrush and Gabriel Wilder
What: Zadkiel wants to meet and discuss a number of things.
When: Friday, July 2
Where: The clinic, then who knows?
Status: Open; in progress

He wondered why Zadkiel wanted to talk.

It wasn't a question that Gabe would ask but it weighed on his mind as he lit his cigarette and inhaled the smoke, feeling the warmth against his lips and simply holding it there for that reason alone. He leaned against the wall, feeling cool red brick press against his cheek as he took another drag. Six o'clock and he wondered if Zadkiel would come outside or if he'd need to go in.

There were a lot of things that Gabe was wondering- it was easiest to stick with the same things than to look back on the others. Particularly after his conversation with Maxxie. Everything repeats, he told himself. Especially other people's advice.

Who: Maxxie Delacourt and Zadkiel Thrush
When: Wednesday, June 30, 2096
Where: Anhalt Building kitchen
What: A conversation that doesn't go quite right
Status: Log, Complete

( You don't get to speak for God. )

Who: Del Ethier and Ganesh Surendar
When: Wed. June 30
Where: Jokertown
What: The Adventures of Del and Ganesh continue into Seattle Below
Status: log/complete

( There's a thingie. Just on the inside. Lots of wires and a battery. )

Who: Gabe and Maxxie
When: Tuesday, 29 June
Where: the sporting goods store, then the car
What: He's stalking, she's shopping, then things go haywire.
Rating: PG-13 for language and violence?
Status: completed log

( This was supposed to be easy. )

Who: Tom Sturbridge and Ganesh Surendar
When: Sunday, June 27
Where: the server room, then the common room at the Anhalt
What: Tom has some ideas about how to work with the virtual club. Ganesh is curious.
Status: Closed; complete

Tom knocked on the server room door, then peered inside when the door cracked open upon the light impact. "Hello?" He stepped in further and saw Ganesh in one corner, rearranging books on a bookshelf. He smiled and waved. "Hey! Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about your virtual club idea thing."

( You've got to become someone else to deal with these people. )

Who: JT Cole and Ganesh Surendar
When: Saturday, June 26 (backdated)
Where: An unknown v-club, though in a different sector
What: JT and Ganesh are searching out information on the internet.
Status: Closed; complete

"My avatar doesn't look anything like me," Ganesh warned JT as he held the holoband in his finger. "So don't be surprised when you jack in, if you see someone who's a lot... taller."

He'd modeled himself off what he'd thought Americans would find attractive. Tall, blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin... and absolutely nothing like himself. He frowned as he thought about that. It still didn't quite work, even with all the hours of practice he'd put in since he'd gone in with Matt.

With his comment, "See you in a minute," he slipped the band over his eyes, white light flooding towards him suddenly until he reached the end of the tunnel and found himself in the small, dark room in which he'd last jacked in. As he waited, he practiced his walk, stepping casually back and forth, barely keeping from tripping over his own muscles.

Who: Matt Cavanaugh and Ganesh Surendar
When: Friday, June 22, 2096
Where: The Nameless V-Club
What: In which, Matt and Ganesh make dick jokes, Ganesh gets splattered with blood, Matt almost loses it, and they run like scared little girls. Also, there's a lot of background violence.
Rating/Warnings: R, thank you. Momentary but descriptive graphic violence and several instances of it. Also, there's a chainsaw murderer.
Status: Log, Complete


The place that the two men entered was a small, dark room. Ganesh didn't recognize it- he had been in cyberspace before but on legitimate means. The Clubs were something new to him, the stuff of myth and monster. The fact that he was standing at the edge of the labyrinth, in a skin not his own, made the back of his neck tingle, his mouth sour as he looked down at his hands.

His fingers were now long and delicate, so pale that he could see blue veins spiderwebbed just under the surface. A couple of freckles spattered his wrists and he looked at them, feeling strangely alien despite the fact that he had taken this form to fit in.

He looked up at Matt, that confusion still clear in the brown eyes that were the only thing left of him in this avatar. A hand reached up, brushing a pale strand of hair away from his face as he straightened a newly muscular body and said, finding a grin, "I should've been nicer to Alec," as he looked pointedly down at his trousers.

"Wow," Matt said with a grin. "Ten fucking seconds and we're already onto dick jokes? Not sure that's going to go over well here."

( The difference here is that I know which wolves to toss you to. )

Who: Alec Tremont and Jimmy Banks
When: Saturday, June 26, 2096
Where: Jimmy's room, Anhalt Building
What: Alec goes looking for help and has something of a meltdown
Status: Log, Complete

( You only do it to shut me up. )

Who: Del Ethier and Ganesh Surendar
When: Wednesday, June 24, afternoon-evening
Where: A hardware store, then back to the Anhalt.
What: Del and Ganesh run into problems and prejudice at the hardware store, then end up talking for a while back at home. PART TWO OF TWO.
Status: Closed; complete


Del gave a warmer grin than was necessary for the situation and shrugged his shoulders to loosen them up. "You know, I bet she'll email you," he remarked, changing the subject.

"I hope not," Ganesh said seriously, unbuckling his seat belt. "That would mean she needed help." He paused, then laughed. "Not that I wouldn't help her but I hope she doesn't need it." He stepped out of the car and shut the door, stretching his arms lazily up to the sky.

( It was one of those things that you didn't ask, he knew that, but he desperately wanted to. )

Who: Del Ethier and Ganesh Surendar
When: Wednesday, June 24, afternoon-evening
Where: A hardware store, then back to the Anhalt.
What: Del and Ganesh run into problems and prejudice at the hardware store, then end up talking for a while back at home. PART ONE OF TWO.
Status: Closed; complete

Del loved being outside in this weather; he almost bounced with every step. While seasons never seemed to stop him from wearing shorts and sandals (not to mention sunglasses), for the first time this year, he felt, it was apropos. Tai-chi was better in the sun, shopping was better in the sun, everything was better in the sun.

"Man, all I need is a ice cream cone and life would be just about perfect," he remarked lazily, folding his hands behind his head.

( You want something to swing at? Or are women and geeks all you can handle? )