wu_lo (wu_lo) wrote in rrinitiative, @ 2013-02-19 23:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | day twelve, grace, grace and wu, wu |
savage culture
Characters: Grace and Wu
Setting: Governor’s office, afternoon
It was absolutely strange to have an office again, especially one provided for him. From what Wu could remember of the Southport facilities, he even suspected that his office here in the experiment was finer than the warden’s had been. And of course, that made him distrustful of the entire thing. He didn’t think anyone would expect differently, of course; not when they all knew there were cameras at work to begin with, and not now that he’d been given some sort of authority.
It would be simple to abuse it, to run with his own agenda and attempt to put rules for his own benefit in place. Wu was not a simple man, though, and his own agenda was more complicated... So for the moment, he was hard at work. He’d propped open the outside door to allow for any potential visitors, situating himself in the outer reception area with a pad of paper and pen, and for the time being? Wu was busy at work, scribbling possible ideas for submission on one page and detailing his suspicions about the other inmates on another.
Of all the people who could have ended up with the office of Governor, Grace was actually quite glad that it was Wu. She sensed something of a kindred spirit in him. They were locked up for having crime syndicates, although her own had only dealt in one thing: drugs. It took a certain type of personality to run that sort of thing, and, if she wasn’t going to be in control of such a place, then she at least wanted someone that she knew would run things in likely a similar manner.
When she had the time, she made her way to Wu’s new office. She had seen on the message board that he was making the effort to keep hours, so she wanted to take advantage. Knocking on the door, she called out through it. “Mr. Wu? It’s Grace Reynolds. I was wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time?” Announcing herself in that way reminded her of something: she needed to change her last name. She was still in the midst of a divorce. She didn’t want to carry her ex-husband’s last name, anymore.
From where he’d settled in the reception area, Wu was aware of Grace’s arrival just a moment before she actually knocked. Some flutter of movement peeked through the partially-open door to catch his eye and raise his awareness, so when the knock came? He was quick to flip his papers over and set them aside, rising from his seat. “Grace, please come in,” Wu called as he stood waiting, never one to shun etiquette in a lady’s arrival, “My time is yours.”
Grace was certainly a person who appreciated etiquette, so she smiled as she walked in when she saw that he had stood for her. Not many men these days remembered that it was proper to stand when a lady walked into the room, after all. “Thank you for seeing me,” she said to him. “How are you settling into the new job?” Despite his abilities, she knew that it had to be a touch overwhelming, first day and all.
“Well enough, I suppose,” Wu answered honestly, gesturing to one of the chairs the reception room held in an unspoken offer for Grace to sit. “There is much I would put in order, but I realize it is not all my task. So the first step is to sort through it all.” He wanted to seize control of the law enforcement, leverage them where he saw fit, and be done with the chaos here. But that was most definitely not in Wu’s purview. “I am eager to submit ideas to our captors though. And yourself? You were elected to the shop, yes?”
Dealing with some of the chaos here would be lovely. She took a seat in one of the chairs offered to her. “No, but it’s still your task to lead and suggest, is it not?” she asked him, tilting her head slightly as she looked up at him. “It’s hard to step on toes when you’re the one in charge.” If she were in charge, she would be thinking similarly. “I like the idea of being in the shop, actually. Let’s me see all sorts of people and all sorts of things.” Which had its own sets of uses, when you thought about it.
That was amusing, and an idea that Wu agreed with privately, but it would make things harder on him if he was so quick to show the others how little their input mattered. And with some of his ideas? He’d need the others here. “You have an interesting perspective now, this is true,” he agreed, “A chance to see what is given the most value by the others? This is how I began my enterprise many years ago.” And he expected that the same could hold true here, and that someone like Grace could end up with more sway than anyone would expect from a shopkeeper. “What brings you by? I am sure it is not to simply discuss our new tasks.”
"Seeing what is important to people is something I've always been good at." She wouldn't have run a good 'enterprise' herself if she hadn't noticed such things early on. Plus, she had simply had the drive to be apart of the goings on around her rather than sit on the sidelines and enjoy the wealth like her own mother had. Despite the face that she had cultivated to the public, she actually liked to 'earn her keep' so to speak. As for why she had come around today, she had to think on how to phrase that. "Not completely, no," she admitted to him. "I'm actually curious. What's the first thing that you plan on taking care of? The arsonist or defacer? Or the defiler that we seem to have in our midsts?" She had one opinion about rapists, and that was very, very low.
“All of them and none of them,” Wu answered smartly, finally moving to sit across the reception room’s table from Grace. “In this role I must be mindful of my involvement or be accused of bias, of herding suspicion on any who are accused, and so I intend to largely empower our law enforcement, nothing more.” If he could, though, he’d be kicking in doors and twisting fingers until he had answers. “But I am given preference in requests, I am told, as well as suggestions for new laws among us. I will leverage both to hopefully see the rapist and the arsonist brought low. Both are volatile threats to us on very different levels. And if I succeed in either, we will then see how well our juries may function.”
Grace's eyes followed him as Wu moved to sit behind the big desk that he was given. He was already an imposing man, and him sitting behind that desk made him even more so. She wondered if he was thinking about having the desk lifted up to tower over people more, like J. Edgar Hoover had done in his own office. Probably not, since he didn't need any of the extra help. She thought about his response to the question that she asked for a moment. "You would think that either of them would rather work towards getting out of this prison one day rather than indulging in their baser desires," she said, almost grumbling as she said it. The arsonist seemed to be interested in pure chaos and the less said about the rapist, the better.
“I would think that a beast is a beast, and they do not question their impulses,” Wu corrected smartly, head shaking a touch. “Birds do not wonder about their flight. And like them, broken people such as these do not wonder about their damage. They do not weigh it against future rewards. They do as they have done, and will do, until the day they are dealt with.” He’d dealt with many such people in his life, and when it came to rapists? He relished the cleansing. “Shy of catching them, all we may do is work to ensure that there will not be another incident. In both cases, I believe patrols would work in our favor. Would you be interested in volunteering?” Wu asked, intent on Grace then for any signs of hesitation.
She smiled at his response, but it was something of a grim response. He was right: a beast was a beast. "Until the day that they are dealt with," she repeated. "Then let us endeavor to deal with them soon." Till then, a patrol was a smart choice. There was no hesitation in Grace when she answered. "I'd be happy to volunteer," she said, looking up and meeting his eyes. She may not initially look like she could deal out much damage, but Wu could likely guess that her own image was cultivated. People tended to let their guards down when the person in front of them appeared more like a sweet housewife rather than someone who could hurt them.
He could guess at that very well indeed, but Wu was a man who never underestimated the lengths or depths of a woman’s capability. He had seen them at their best and at their most vicious, and with Grace’s criminal history? He would be an idiot to assume she fell short of either standard. In this country, a powerful woman was doubly so if she succeeded at all. “I will propose a system to our overseers today, if it is approved we will have structure by tomorrow,” Wu assured her with a gracious nod.
“And until that time? An unofficial response will serve. I am seeking other volunteers, and will send word of who you will patrol with, if this is agreeable.” He wasn’t going to let anyone in here work alone, or choose their associates for that matter. The list of people Wu genuinely trusted in here was two names long, and until it grew? He wouldn’t give anyone control of a single variable.
She nodded. "Just let me know as soon as you do who I am patrolling with." While she had people that she preferred over others here, there was no one that she found totally unagreeable that she at least knew by name here. "Do you wonder if maybe the rapist would volunteer, as some way to hopefully get the spotlight off of himself?" It was a thought that just occurred to her, but it was one that concerned her just the same. After all, it was what she would do if she wanted suspicion off of herself.
“I expect it is possible,” Wu concurred thoughtfully. “My own suspects hold positions in the facility that would draw implications away. But I also know suspicions run high about certain members here, and I intend to clear them.” He saw no harm in sharing his thoughts with Grace, not after lunch yesterday and the common agreement among several of them to do just that. “I will request from our overseers that if a popular vote can be reached in any individual’s case, we will be supplied with their arrest record prior to coming here,” he detailed. “We have existed so far with only each other’s word about our crimes, I believe this has allowed the rapist to pose as someone less threatening.”
He had a great point there. None of them truly knew what one another had done, and now they were paying the price, both with an arsonist and a rapist in their midsts. While this didn't happen as much in women's prisons, she knew that rapists were at the bottom of the totem pole in prison. Why would anyone admit to doing it here, when they are afforded more freedoms to wander about? This was more like...summer camp than a true prison. "I agree that may be the way to go. Hopefully, you will soon be able to figure out who the culprits here are." Even she had to admit that she was a little nervous with a rapist in their midsts. While she knew that her age kept her from being a primary target, that didn't always stop one when the opportunity arose. She hated feeling any sort of fear, and that made her want to tear this bastard limb from limb.
With a slight nod, Wu slipped from his chair once more, moving towards the door at an idle pace. He’d given audience, and unless there was more needed from him? he planned on using the polite etiquettes he’d learned over the years to see Grace out tactfully. There was still work to do, plans to draw up, messages to send to his allies in this place (both open and hidden). “Hopefully, yes,” Wu agreed lightly. “Whether I and our guards succeed or not, diligence and cooperation will go far indeed in assuring our safety, relative as it is in this place.”
He hated to admit how true that was; they needed to be a community, if only to ease the process of catching whoever would jeopardize Wu’s eventual plans. And if he had to, he would force them, which left Wu all the more grateful for people like Grace. She knew when her own interests ran parallel. “Some night soon, if you would join me for dinner?” he requested as he moved, showing no smile to make the offer a warm one.
All she had wanted was some of his time to make her interests known, and she had volunteered for his patrols as well, so she had accomplished what she had came for. Plus, she had other things she wanted to do today. She wanted to check in on Becka, for one. She could tell that the young girl wasn't doing too well at the moment. It was likely due to missing her own daughters, but Grace couldn't help but feel the need to help take care of her a little. She knew that Becka missed her own family as well. "You're right. One way or another, I believe things will end up working themselves out," she said, standing.
She did give him a slight smile when he asked if she would like to join him for dinner soon. "I'd like that, actually," she said to him. "Just let me know when is good for you. You are quite the busy man now, after all." She highly doubted that she would be the only person who stopped by today, after all.
“I will send word,” Wu promised with a gesture towards the door as he moved to accompany Grace. “There will be opportunities, I am sure. And communal meals will be something I encourage...” They did wonders for fostering togetherness, or at least recognition of the shared situation. “And if there is any other concern, Grace, do not hesitate to call on me. I shall do the same as needed, especially for patrols this evening.” It had to start somewhere, and Wu felt better about the idea with one volunteer already. With three more, they could make a proper attempt...
"Communal meals aren't a bad idea at all," she admitted to him. People seeed to have separated into their own little groups a bit. It was natural, of course. If you managed to make a few friends, then you wanted to stick with them. However, they all did need to work as a team. If they were going to get out of here all the better for it, then learning to work with others was the way to go. "I look forward to seeing you soon."