InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "u r pretty"

Callen, G. (g_callen) wrote in omega_reality,
@ 2012-03-27 07:43:00

Entry tags:

*complete, 2012 03, character: alexis castle, character: g callen, character: troy bolton, dead: jenna hanna, dead: mike renko

RP: A Few Casual Interviews
Who: G Callen, Mike Renko, Jenna Hanna, Troy Bolton, Alexis Castle
Where: All over the ranch
When: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 -- all day
Summary: G talks to a few people to assess training needs

The director liked his office and his meetings. G preferred being out with his team and seemingly casual conversations. For most everyone he had a good idea of what they could and couldn't do at this point. They'd been training as a team with their power for long enough what he hadn't seen he could extrapolate.

Still, there were a few people who had newly come into their powers or who had seen changes recently that he needed to assess before they went forward with any further training. And, now that they'd explained the day before about the new ruling on not training with powers outside group training or with G's supervision or approval, he wanted to make sure he touched base with those he had less firsthand experience with their powers.

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

g_callen
2012-03-29 03:39 am UTC (link)

G would have been very, very surprised if Bolton had actually done it. But, it was enough to make his point.

"Most people would use the word insane, but fucking nuts works if you prefer," he replied with an all too casual shrug. Given his track record with partners before Sam and even for a time after, nuts was pretty light compared to the things he'd been called in the past. G didn't require people to like him, just to pay attention and not get themselves or others killed. "We're not talking about bones from meat. We're talking about training that will keep you or anyone with you alive. And, I don't mean just Sean. Sam will put you through the ringer because while we trust that Sean is capable enough to protect the both of you if he has to, you have yet to earn that trust. But, this, right now? This is about the team. This is about Nell or Alexis or Riggins or anyone else you might have to rely on you in a fight or another attack. Bloody is never cool. Bloody is dead. You might well get to practice on your nice saran wrapped butchered meat. But, the day that you do it will be to prepare you for being able to do it to another human being if you have to.

"Until then, you will be practicing tying your shoes until you can do it in your sleep because if you can do that, then chances are you'll have better control when you need to do something more life threatening like removing bullets from a friend's leg to stitch it up if you have to and there's no way to get to April or someone else with the experience to do it."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

t_bolton
2012-03-29 03:50 am UTC (link)

"No, we're not talking. Period," Troy snapped back, "because you're trying to make a point based on the words 'bloody' and 'cool', but it doesn't change that bloody is cool when it's wrapped meat or a video game. It doesn't mean that I'm stupid enough to try it on a person, because cool or not, I wouldn't do it, but I'm not going to sit back and watch my words, because Oh My God, we need to be politically correct, or wow if you say something it must be true, or whatever fucked up ideas you have. Despite everything, I plan to have fun in life, and if that's joking about powers, then there's not a fucking thing you can do."

Troy snorted. "I get that it's not your style. You have to stand back, look all broody, not talk about your tortured past, and 'oh poor Callen, you don't know all of his history', because that's what people say. Well, I don't give a fuck about your history. You want to sound like Oliver Twist and have people's pity, go ahead. Me? I'm just going to have fun and entertain my friends, so next time Nell suggests pulling bones or crunching noises when you drop someone, I'll go along, because she's my friend and we're having fun, and yes, you can actually manage to have fun while training. You don't have to act like the fucking Sphinx to pay attention, and there's no reason for boring to practice. So screw you and your sanctimonious attitude."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

g_callen
2012-03-29 04:31 am UTC (link)

"Good. We won't talk. I'll talk. You might try listening and thinking ." Honestly, G couldn't even be bothered to be pissed at having his past thrown in his face. It had no bearing on this conversation any more than Bolton's relationship with Sean did. Or, maybe his stupidity threshold was just expanding.

"The point is that your flippant attitude about things and inability to take any of this seriously is going to get someone killed. It's that kind of thinking that is the reason the Director made the rule about training these powers that he just did. Playing around, treating these powers like a game is quite possibly what got two people killed this past weekend. You want to have fun in life? Great. Be my guest. But, you get responsibility and, yeah, even things that aren't fun, too. That's part of what growing up is. You have to put aside some of the fun and do a little work that might very well be boring and that you probably don't want to do.

"This isn't about Sean or me or whatever other pretty little tale you have in your head to explain why Callen is the big bad task master and you're the poor little boy who's just trying to have some fun. This is about the reality of the world you've landed in. And, yeah, you didn't ask to be here. Neither did any of us. But, this isn't a dream you get to wake up from any moment. Tyra and Reid weren't killed as a joke. What happened back at that base was not a game. Resetting a console won't bring back Hetty or Garcia or any of the others. You fuck up, people get hurt. It's that simple."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

t_bolton
2012-03-29 12:15 pm UTC (link)

"No, I think you're the dickhead who doesn't get that not all of us have a stick up our asses," Troy answered, going from annoy to furious.

"Have I ever complained about being here? Not once. Have I ever bitched about the work? No. Have I even whined that it's too hard? Again, no. Have I ever not done what you or Sam or whoever the fuck asked me to do? No . I get hard work, I've been working hard to get where I am since I was a kid. It might not be life and death, but basketball meant something to me and I worked hard to get there. So don't you give me a lecture about taking things seriously, because I can take them seriously and still joke about it. If you have a problem with that, tough shit because I'm not about to change so you can mold us, turn us into mini-mes." He glared at Callen. "Yeah, Hetty died, because of me, I get it. I had barely gotten here and that shit happened. That's on me, but you know what? I'm not going to crawl into a corner and cry, or play the silent brooding time so people feel bad for me. I smile, I crack a joke, and I remind people that there's a reason to be happy and enjoy life."

Troy snorted. "You know what else? You've been here a long time and a lot of people have died under your leadership, so maybe you're the one doing it wrong, and when you fuck up, people get hurt." He was tempted to do something attention grabbing, but it was them, the cattle and the truck, and he wouldn't hurt the cattle and Vance would have his balls if he smashed the truck. He was almost tempted to use his power on Callen, but he wasn't the stupid bastard the man was, instead he turned toward the fence and a row of stones began to move up waving between the electric wires, and then back down following the same dance until they rested down to the floor, before turning to Callen. "You want to tell me what to do, fine, but you do not get to tell me how to live my life and if I want to joke about how fucking boring that was, that's my business, not yours. As long as I do what you say, it's none of your fucking business how I approach life or what I say about your orders, because this isn't the Marines, and by the way, that's a lot more than I can say about you, who says shit and never does crap. I'd rather deal with people who joke about stuff and do what they say than people who sound all serious and then are always coming up for reasons why they couldn't do it. So maybe you're right, it's not about Sean, it's about you not liking me, because I don't buy into our act, because I can tell you aren't that good of a leader, maybe a decent teacher, but not a leader, because you can't even see that people might do things differently, but they still get the job done. So next time, before you waste my time with these little tete-a-tete, check to see if you're doing it because I'm not doing what you say or because my personality brings out your little insecurities. Now, should we go and do some real work, or do we stay here and continue to discuss how much we don't like the other?"

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

g_callen
2012-03-29 01:49 pm UTC (link)

G listened to the diatribe and then just shook his head. "And see, there again, you prove you're not listening to a word I've said. I don't dislike you or like you. I dislike your attitude tonight. I'm also not telling you how to live your life. I don't actually care as long as you have one to live.

"What I do care about," he continued calmly, "is seeing that you're trained well enough to survive to make your jokes. I don't joke about training. Whether that makes me a dickhead or a bad leader or anything else of which you want to accuse me, that's your opinion and I don't really care if you like me, either. But, maybe, just maybe, you might want to consider that I wouldn't have concerns about you taking things seriously if, instead of joking about bloody and cool, or telling me something's boring, you'd just said, hey, let me show you what I've been working on instead." He nodded toward the rocks. It still wasn't the same precision as the control he'd need to tie his shoes, but it was more than G'd known when they started this little adventure. "Then we wouldn't have to have a tete-a-tete in the middle of a cow pasture and we could have finished the real work we were discussing back there."

Heading for the truck, stared at Bolton a moment before opening the door. "I wasn't blaming you for Hetty, Bolton. No matter what happened, there's always a choice and Hetty made hers."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

t_bolton
2012-03-29 02:03 pm UTC (link)

"No, I'm listening and I'm hearing a lot more than you are saying. The attitude is who I am, so yes, you don't like who I am and yes you are telling me how to live because you want me to react like you think it's right."

He snorted. "We were talking, not training. You want me to show you something you ask." He had no intention of showing this dickhead anything from now on unless it was a direct result of an exercise. "Maybe you should just ask, instead of getting pissed because I can still enjoy life."

Good thing from now on his contact with Callen would be very limited. With Spencer, Sam and Robert, he would just have to avoid those stupid dinners for life and they'd be set. "Of course you are. I just don't give a fuck, because I know what I did and didn't do. As I said that's on me." They could start that avoidance right now. "I'll walk back."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

g_callen
2012-03-29 03:38 pm UTC (link)

"Then maybe you should stop hearing what I'm not saying and listen to what I am," G pointed out. "So, let's back up a moment. I want to know you're serious in training. That's it. You want to joke around and bs about things in the rest of your life, I really don't even have time to care. But, when it comes to training, I need to know you're listening and taking me seriously. I may take everything far more seriously than most people, but there's a flip side to that where not everyone is going to find what you think are jokes to be the slightest bit funny. We were talking, yes. And it was a discussion on training. I was giving instruction for what I wanted to see from you in training. In response I got jokes and told to fuck off about a relationship that had nothing to do with the conversation. I tried to tell you I was pleased and you blew me off because you knew better what my intentions were."

Hell, half the conversation had been spent with G trying to figure out where the fuck this kid was coming up with his logic. He'd never be able to relax again once Savannah got this kid to family dinner.

"I did ask you how far you'd pushed on your own. You gave me an answer about moving beer and food and getting bored moving heavy items. Nowhere in there did you give any indication you had practiced that sort of control other than to make yourself fly. Contrary to what you imagine I believe, I don't know everything. I can't tailor your training to be effective unless I know what you can do. Now, if you prefer to play twenty questions and turn the discussion into an interrogation every time I need to check your progress, that's fine with me." G should have known better than to expect a forthcoming response from anyone, anyway. Whenever he tried to not be draconian about things, he got burned.

He almost let him walk away. But, G couldn't do that. First, he couldn't leave the kid out here unprotected. But, second and more importantly, no matter how easy it would be to let the kid keep thinking it, no matter how low his opinion was of G as a leader, G couldn't let him continue thinking he was at fault for Hetty's death. "Bolton, stop. Look, I'm sorry if by bringing Hetty up you get the impression I blame you for her death. But, I don't. You're a twenty-two year old kid who'd never had to deal with this in his life and had only barely started learning how to defend himself, let alone another person. There was nothing you could do. Hetty was...Hetty. Protecting the people she took responsibility for was what she did, even when they felt they didn't need or deserve that protecting." For the first time since the conversation began, G's calm facade cracked just enough he heard it in his own voice even if, he hoped, Bolton didn't. And he hated that he had to stop speaking or risk betraying to this kid how much that loss still affected him. Even if G's feelings had mattered, it wouldn't do any good, anyway, for Bolton to hear it. It would only further impress upon him the belief that G held him responsible.

G sighed. "Get in the truck, Bolton. You can ride in the bed and call me every dirty name in the book, if you want. But, I can't leave you out here alone."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

t_bolton
2012-03-29 04:38 pm UTC (link)

"Serious about training? Are you kidding me? Have I ever not done what you say? Running up the bleachers, hard, but I do it. Shooting a gun, insane, but I do it. Throwing free points for an hour, fucking boring, I do it. Sam decides that I'm suddenly a SEAL in training, fucking insane, but I still do it. And I don't complain, no matter what. So if you want to know that I'm serious, you look at what I've done. Tying laces very boring, but I never said that I wouldn't do it. That doesn't mean that I can't think that there aren't cooler things. You want to bitch, then you wait until we are training and I'm not doing what you want. And I didn't blow you off. I said its common sense. Would I have loved to stay and watch the games? Sure, but I know better. A five year old would know better. So not blowing off, just common sense." He wasn't even going to touch Sean. If they wanted him to think that the sudden interest was coincidental, then he'll play along.

"I told you what I did," he said, exasperating. "You didn't ask what I thought I could do. I've never tried that before, just like I never tried floating until Sean said it and I did it. If I can picture it, I can do it, it's just that simple. I'm sorry if it should be more complicated, but it isn't. Sorry that I don't have to lie down and rest, or whatever other side effects I should have. I don't spend hours training on my free time. I use my powers to make life easier at home. I just need to picture it and I can make it happen. The only question you have to ask is 'show me whatever'."

Troy had already started to walk, but stopped and turned, glaring again. "I told it doesn't matter what you think. I know what I did or didn't do. It is my fault," he said feeling the tightness in his voice and the sting in his eyes. It was one of those subjects that should never be brought up, just like his parents. "She died, because I wasn't ready and it's never going to happen again. So yes, there were things I could do and I will do them, because I will not let my friends get hurt because of me, but it's not going to affect how I deal with them as a person."

He frowned. "Calling you names? Seriously? Do you think I'm five?" Worse did he think that he was worth the effort? "I was going to run back, not go have a party, but whatever."

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Re: Callen and Bolton -- After Flying

g_callen
2012-03-29 05:42 pm UTC (link)

Snorting, G raised an eyebrow. "A five year would be more creative than dickhead. And if you were having a party, you wouldn't be alone, would you?"

The kid's glare bounced right off G. But, the tone of voice didn't. Damn it. Why did he have to have a soft spot for troubled kids? "It is not your fault. Hetty made the choice. She could have followed you and Nell out the window. She could have ducked and saved herself. But, that isn't who she was and she would have been the first in line to rip you a new one for believing it was your fault. It was a bad situation. It sucks, but it happens. If you want to blame someone, blame the government that put us in this position. Blame the idiot scientists playing God to bring us here. But, don't blame yourself because none of it is your fault."

G was beginning to see part of the problem, though. Taking a breath, he held up his hands in surrender. "Hold on a moment." Eventually, they said enough to put the pieces together, despite the left field arguments. "I'm asking a question, not judging or bitching, okay? But, I think I see where we're having the communication disconnect. You just said if I want to bitch, wait until we are in training and you're not doing it right. Leaving aside the fact that I don't want to bitch at all, what did you think that conversation was if not training instruction?"

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