Jacqueline Veronique Legrand // Boba Fett (worthalottome) wrote in ourtrueselves, @ 2010-01-20 18:23:00 |
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This was probably one of the worst ideas that Jacqueline had thought up since that stupid scheme in Belarus three years ago that had resulted in her having to flee the country on a moped while dressed as a nun. Some things were better being left in the past; it’s possible that James was one of those things, just like Belarus and all the other jobs that went hilariously wrong. Even though that might be the case, that hadn’t stopped her from meeting him and beginning to train him to use the weapons she had given him for Christmas. She didn’t want him to accidentally shoot himself, after all, and some of the heavier artillery took a little getting used to and that meant training him, because she wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of outsourcing it to someone else just yet. She hadn’t known him for long, not really, and she was already feeling slightly protective of him. This didn’t bode well for her at all. “Never leave your guns loaded, always clean them and never leave them lying around.” It was obvious advice, but he was young and sometimes the obvious slipped peoples minds. “Here ends the lesson. Any questions?” If someone had told James he'd be hanging out in a Brooklyn (Brooklyn) warehouse trying to learn how to use an arsenal this time last year, they'd have been laughed off the face of the planet. Still, here he was. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say he was a little sore, but he was still running on the excitement of it. It was like being in a movie. There was no movie montage but it would do for the time being. "Don't leave a loaded gun hanging around," James repeated, shooting her a look of amusement. "How dumb do you think I am?" There was a beat of silence before he put his hands up. "Wait. Don't answer that." Jacqueline shot him a pointed look, “Stupid enough to agree to meet someone who had given you an arsenal for Christmas in the place that it’s stored without running a proper background check or bringing backup? For all you know I could’ve rigged the place.” She offered as a brief explanation. “I thought it was worth going over the very basic gun safety rules with you.” She was slightly amused at it all. As far as first meetings went there were worse ones, but she still thought it was a bad idea to get involved in his life. Hopefully she could pass herself off as a mysterious woman who just wanted to spoil a twenty year old. Yes, because that wasn’t at all Mrs. Robinson while being completely and utterly disturbing. It was possible she had just managed to gross herself out. “I presume you know how to run a background check? Or do I need to go over that as well?” "Point taken," James shrugged. What was the point in life if it wasn't a little bit exciting, such as almost getting yourself blown sky high? "I'm a tech nerd, ma'am, I've been screwing with computers since before I could write. I know how to run a background check," He told her, starting to put things away with a sigh of sadness. He was going to miss playing with his weaponry. Which reminded him... "I get the weapons," He commented, "Though I'm curious as to what's with the bike." “Don’t call me ma’am, kid, you make me sound ancient,” Jacqueline wrinkled her nose in distaste. “Then maybe you should run them before you meet up with strange women in warehouses.” Not the worst advice she could give, but it was probably there with ‘don’t leave guns lying around’. “It’s all an exit strategy for when you get in over your head and need to get out as quickly as possible.” Not if but when. She was confident in his ability to get into a ridiculous amount of trouble when the time came. “And you like bikes more than cars, although there’s one in here. In case you’re all running away as a group.” No one could say that Jacqueline didn’t do her homework. "Then don't call me kid," James pointed out, in an almost playful tone. "I've dabbled but my gut instincts are good with people. I'm not stupid but yeah, I take chances and shit. It's how I met Sarah, after all." He rolled his eyes at her. You'd think if she knew how into the rest of this he was, she'd know he was a stubborn son of a bitch who didn't like running away. "I'm not much for ducking out. More for the just shoot them and get on with it." Or put heads in a bag but that would have been pretty damned gross. He didn't really want to try that. "I don't like running away, except as a definitely gonna die resort." Sometimes not even then. “Fine, what would you prefer I call you? The bratty one? It’s a bit of a mouthful though so I can’t promise it’ll stick.” Jacqueline deadpanned. It was her idea of a joke, but she wasn’t exactly naturally funny. “Gut instincts or a pretty blonde girl smiled at you?” She was almost certain it was the latter. Boys. “That’s why you have a warehouse full of weapons. To stay and fight if you want to.” Jacqueline pointed out. “But sometimes you have no other option than to get out. Especially if there are other lives are on the line.” If his life was in danger then she could think of several people who would probably be in the same situation alongside him. “However, if you don’t like the bike, car or all the other bits and pieces I’ve stored away here then I can just take them back. It’s your choice.” "I've had enough girls smile at me to know which ones put out," James shrugged, though thinking about it, it was about fifty fifty. "Most people use Jay, James or Hey You so any of those really work." Though he was getting a bit sick of being called "Hey You" at random intervals, so maybe he shouldn't have said that. Eh, damage done. "Congrats, you know me enough to know when I’ll stick around." He wasn't sure he liked that there was someone who knew him that well, but he supposed it wasn't the end of the world. It wasn't like she knew about his insane hair products. "Not ungrateful, I'm just not used to people doing this stuff. Thanks, yeah?" “Please don’t ever talk to me about your sex life.” She wrinkled her nose in distaste. There were some things that Jacqueline just never needed to know about him. That was in the top ten, if it wasn’t actually number one. “I’ll stick with James then.” Jacqueline shrugged, “Most people stick around when others are in trouble. At least most good people.” She possibly didn’t fit into that category herself, at least she hadn’t before meeting some of her fellow reincarnates. It was beginning to make her job rather difficult, and that was something she didn’t like very much. “You’re welcome, and it’s nothing. I have warehouses like this all over the place. I think some of them even have helicopters.” James had no idea a hired merc could be quite that ridiculously embarrassed and prudish about a freshly former teenagers sex life but each to their own. Despite what he told everyone and their mother, he wasn't exactly in the habit of meeting women he didn't know in random places for training with weapons they thought he should have just in case. Having to hold his tongue did add to the surrealism. "Helicopters?" That was a new one him. He wasn't used to that level of extravagance but maybe one day when he was old and more experienced. "So you do this a lot? Meet younger guys in draughty warehouses for the purpose of weapons training?" “Yes, it’s how I spend my downtime because I don’t have a life to speak of.” Jacqueline deadpanned. It was easier to deflect questions or distract people from asking anymore than it was to lie because lies could so easily grow until you have no idea what you’ve actually told. She didn’t want to lie to him, but it’s not as if telling the truth would get her very far either. “I also have a couple of jets, but I keep them at airports. Sometimes I don’t feel like taking the MTN and commercial flights can be tricky if I want to take weaponry with me.” Not impossible, but usually more difficult than she wanted to deal with. “So, do you usually spend your free time meeting strange women for weapons training?” James was pretty sure she was being sarcastic. He went to high school. He knew what sarcasm was. "Jets and helicopters. Clearly you have something about flying. Waiting to see if they can build a cheaper spaceship or is that just next on the list?" Knowing her (about as much as he did), it was probably on her list, which was both really weird and kind of not. "No, usually I spend it wining and dining the bikes or riding the girl. Or vice versa, depending on the situation." And depending on whether one was closed for maintenance, which could happen with both Sarah and the bike. He just had to be careful not to compare either of them. They were jealous old things. "This is an exciting new thing." “Fett did like his spaceship and his jet pack.” Jacqueline pointed out. Even if the jet pack was completely ridiculous and she wouldn’t be caught dead in one. A spaceship wasn’t a bad idea though, but it wasn’t exactly practical. What was she going to do with it? Annoy NASA? “Not really. I’m thinking of getting a new car or bike. Something speedy.” Jacqueline pulled a face, “What did I tell you about the sex talk? Cut it out.” Oh god, she was beginning to sound like her mother. That was just terrible. “I’m glad you’re finding it entertaining.” "It was a really...interesting...looking ship," James sniggered, recalling his years of chatting about things of that nature on forums and defending his like of Darth Maul. He started to snigger at the speedy reference. It could be sexual, it could be DC, it was a flexible reference for amusing yourself. "You sound like my Mom," He teased her, looking her over. She probably wasn't quite old enough to be her, but that didn't mean he couldn't take the piss out of her for sounding like it. "Don't be such a prude. It's funny. It's only not funny when you're not having it." Or if you're a teenager in high school who wishes they could get laid but isn't having much luck, but that part was less imaginative. “It looked like an iron. The man has no taste.” Jacqueline couldn’t help but smile, the ship really did look ridiculous, but then so did his armour. Not even she was entirely sure what practical uses a jet pack might have apart from looking cool and being completely stupid. “That’s because I am your mother.” She hadn’t meant to say it, it was one of those things that just slipped out before the brain to mouth filter could stop it. Her life usually relied on her not saying every stupid little thing that went into her head, which actually made her fuck ups more spectacular. “Funny now?” She asked weakly. Yes, this entire meeting had been such a bad idea. James had to smile at that. He was always appreciative of someone who was willing to have a laugh at their own expense, especially if it was a former them and not done in any way that could be construed as self pitying. However, he had to wonder about her sense of humour if she thought that was particularly funny. "Gee, Ma, you've grown a few inches," He commented, blinking at her. Jacqueline was genuinely torn on whether to brush it off like it was a strange joke or to tell him the truth. It would answer a lot of questions, why she had given him a warehouse full of weapons for one, but was this the sort of thing she should tell him to answer a few seemingly inconsequential questions? Probably not. Is it something he deserved to know? She wasn’t sure she was qualified to answer that, but there was no denying that the cat was out of the bag. “It’ll happen in twenty years.” She sighed. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said it like that.” An apology, which was rare for her. There was a silent beat before a slight lurch in his stomach took hold. He waited on the moment she'd go 'psyche!' but since it didn't seem to be coming..."Are you shitting me?" “It would make my life so much easier if I was, believe me.” Jacqueline said. It wasn’t how she had been planning on telling him, she hadn’t actually been planning on telling him at all. “Look, are you – do you need anything? To sit down or maybe a large drink?” James stopped for a moment and looked her over. This wasn't what he thought about when he thought of his mother, the other one and meeting her. At least she wasn't blonde. Though if he wasn't mistaken... He reached over to push her hair back to get a look at what he suspected was the origin of the bane of his existence. His ears. He put his fingers on them and made a face. "Thanks for those," he commented, quietly. Jacqueline ducked her head and gently brushed his fingers away, “Yeah, sorry about them. They’re a big family trait.” She said. It looked like the ears and the unhealthy interest in weapons were the biggest things he’d got from her, which was better than some of the alternatives. “Is there anything you want to know about me or… anything?” She wasn’t entirely sure what he’d want to know about her or her family, she wasn’t sure what she would want to know if their positions were reversed. “If this is overwhelming and you want to leave then we can always meet up later if you want to.” "I'm okay," James commented, shaking his head before something hit him quite hard and hit his head, "And I just talked about riding with the woman whose birth canal I came out of. Smart, James. Really smart." He needed to learn when to shut his mouth and just get on with it. He'd never been all that good at it, though. It didn't look like it was about to change. "I dunno, you kind of sprung it on me. Hey, I'll email you or...something." Email you? Oh this was bordering on ridicule. He had to say something more constructive than that. "Uh, any other family traits, I guess?" “It could’ve been worse. You could’ve actually hit on me.” That would have been completely disastrous as well as a little disgusting. “Trust me; I’m actually planning to forget all about that part of the conversation.” E-mail, well that was one way to connect with biological family and probably a little better than the option of adding her to Facebook. “Family traits? Um, my parents and sister are conservative Christians who haven’t voted anything other that Republican in their lives. Not bad people, just not my kind of people.” She shrugged. “There are no big illnesses on my side of the family, I might’ve had an aunt who died of cancer and possibly an uncle or someone who had heart disease, but that’s about it. I don’t know about your father.” She hadn’t spoken to him in eighteen years so knowing his medical history off the top of her head wasn’t one of her many and varied talents. She had a point. He'd almost hit on his mother. Like...the one with the active birth canal. He shuddered internally at the thought and cleared his throat to try and distract himself from that god awful image. "My Grandparents voted republican too and we still let them in the house. It's cool," He said, scratching his head trying to process it. Yeah, it wasn't going to work without vast amounts of alcohol. "So, are you old then or were you about twelve?" That might explain things if she was, actually, but he couldn't overlook the possibility of something else. “I was fourteen when I got pregnant, fifteen when I gave birth.” It wasn’t the easiest thing she’d gone through, and sharing the details wasn’t something she did often or with many people but if anyone deserved to know, it was him. “Keeping you wasn’t really an option and I would’ve made a lousy mother anyway. Your parents were nice when I met them and they wanted you. So that was that, I suppose.” Jacqueline shrugged awkwardly, what were you supposed to say about giving someone up for adoption anyway? All the ridiculous phrases, like it being for the best, just sounded ridiculous. Of course it was or she wouldn’t have done it, it’s unlikely that she would’ve done something for the worst. "So you guys met," James repeated, thinking he probably should have really asked them more questions about this. It was alright, though. He was twenty, he didn't really need a parent anymore. Except when he did, he had two that he was happy enough with. "I'm glad, they're awesome." That didn't sound like he was nervous, did it? He didn't have anything to be nervous about. "They did an okay job, I was just curious. I mean, you're not evil, are you?" Which didn't sound as if he was fucking five years old at all, did it? "I mean, you're not evil incarnate or anything." “Once or twice during the adoption process, but only to meet them and then to sign the papers. It wasn’t as if we were friends or anything.” Jacqueline shrugged. “They were just nice people who wanted a baby.” She laughed, “I’m the reincarnation of Boba Fett and a former CIA agent turned spy for hire, I think evil is relative.” She said. “But no, I’m not evil in the mastermind trying to take over the world sort of way.” No, she just killed people, spied on people, broke into places and tried to scare the shit out of people for money. It was one way to make a living. "Sounds like them," James admitted. Any flaws and overemotional mothers aside, he had no complaints when it came to his parents. Okay, that made her sound a little evil, but probably no more than most of the people he knew. She was just someone who was out for herself. He didn't exactly trust her, but he wasn't one to trust anyone easily. He was just in a warehouse, with his biological mother who admitted to being a little evil. Either he was very stupid or life was just really fucking ironic. "Mind if we pick this up another time? I think I'm heading towards a BSOD if I get more info." “Of course not, you know how to contact me if you need anything.” Frankly she was glad she wouldn’t have to scramble for things to tell him any longer. “Oh, and keep practicing with the weapons. You’ve got potential to be really good.” That wasn’t praise she gave often, but it was honest and he probably needed to hear something positive after all the revelations. Jacqueline quickly packed up her things and left the warehouse. She was going to go to another continent to have a very, very strong drink. |