ciɳɗy (ciɳɗɛʀɛʆʆɑ) ѵɑkɑʀiɑɳ (silvershoes) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2017-09-10 15:02:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, cindy cendrillon (cinderella), damian wayne (robin) |
Who: Cindy & Damian
What: Recruiting some fresh meat for Internal Security at The Agency
When: Recently (right after the Diablo plot)
Where: Stalking Damian at a cafe~
Rating/Warnings: Nada!
Status: Complete
After spending the last few days killing zombies and demons, Damian was 100% ready for that vacation Celaena suggested a few weeks earlier and he was sure that she was ready for it too. The two of them were used to spending a few nights a week patrolling and occasionally stopping robberies or mugging and things like that, but it had been awhile since they had taken part in protecting the county from some sort of invasion and despite both of them being trained assassins, thanks to the dreams, fighting hordes of zombies and demons was exhausting. Damian was going over Celaena’s house later that afternoon and would bring up the vacation idea again then, but for the moment he was stopping into a cafe to grab a coffee. It was a little disappointing that, being in her second trimester of pregnancy, Cindy couldn’t go out there and kick some ass the way she usually did when zombies or demons or whatever usual iconic villain-monster invaded the OC (though they did seem to get their lion’s share of demons, didn’t they?). No, instead she had to do all her helping from the office - like, as in, sitting on her bum and being behind the scenes as opposed to out there in the thick of things. In her pumpkin carriage. Annihilating zombies with the cryo-blaster. Still, being pretty much the only one in her division meant that Cindy was about ready to recruit some help - this latest episode had showed her that, since she couldn’t handle the work of three or four people. She’d done her research, some stalking here and there on Valarnet, and zeroed in on who she thought was a good candidate for Internal Security. Now, she just had to hope he went for it since she’d gone to all this trouble of making sure she’d find him in the area of the cafe she had in mind. She went in after he did, ordering a decaf coffee and both a red velvet cupcake and a fruit tart. What, she was eating for two! And it quite obviously showed. The place was cozy, kind of a bookshop-cafe sort of deal, with things to read and board games to play - once she’d received her order she had her plate in one hand and her coffee cup in the other, approaching her mark. “Hey there,” Cindy greeted casually. “You’re Damian, right?” Well, of course she was right. But it was a decent opener. Not expecting to be recognized, Damian looked a little surprised at the sound of his name and he was even more surprised when he looked up at the woman who had used it, because she wasn’t someone that he knew. At least not someone that he knew personally. He had been living in Orange County long enough now though that he knew there were people who either dreamed of him, that he didn’t know, or simply people from the net who had seen him there so it shouldn’t have been that surprising. Then again, there was always the chance that this woman knew him some other way. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m Damian Wayne. Can I help you?” The last time someone he didn’t know came looking for him, he’d found out that his mother had somehow set aside a large sum of money for him before she’d died. He didn’t think that was the case this time though. He wasn’t that lucky. “Grab your coffee and let’s have a seat, there’s a little business proposition I want to discuss with you,” Cindy replied. “In fact - “ She turned to the barista and said, “Whatever he wants, it’s on me.” It was only polite to buy coffee for someone you’d basically stalked and were now looking to offer a job to - if he turned her down, then she was only out of the price of a hot (or cold) beverage. If he accepted? Well, even better. Damian’s brow furrowed slightly as he listened to the woman standing before him. He had absolutely no idea what this woman could possibly have to talk to him about, but he was intrigued. “Alright. You’ve got my attention.” He turned towards the barista and ordered his drink then once he had it in hand, he gestured towards the blond, “Lead the way.” He would let her choose a table. Cindy chose a table in the back, kind of secluded where someone might want to sit and read. But it was just them, they were alone for the time being, so she figured it was safe to have a chat about a certain, clandestine government-funded operation. “So you’ve lived here for awhile,” she started, settling in her chair and peeling the wrapper off of her cupcake. God, that looked good - she might need a fork to eat this bad boy. “You know how shit hits the fan like, pretty regularly.” The occurrences were increasing too, which made sense - more bodies, more dreams, more of a chance for whatever barrier that kept their other lives separate from this reality to thin just a bit more. “I work for a government-funded organization that basically puts out fires. We don’t have a name but we’re just called The Agency. We do our best to handle what crops up - field teams, special agents, things like that - but we also do research on the anomalies and do our best to keep a lid on OC shenanigans, not letting it get out much.” Kind of hard to hide a fucking alien invasion though, and not only were the occurrences increasing but they were starting to be a little more larger than life. It was frustrating, to say the least. “I’m head of our Internal Security Division - what I do is pretty much what it says on the tin. Obviously our organization is employing people regularly to deal with OC threats, but we need to make sure we’re taking on the best of the best - with the information The Agency has, we can’t afford to have any traitors in our ranks, if you know what I mean,” she continued, taking a sip of her decaf blend. Damian listened as the pregnant woman across from him spoke, figuring out about halfway through where she was from and what exactly she was offering him before she’d finished, but he let her continue on, not wanting to interrupt. “You know that your secret organization isn’t exact all that secret, right?” He’d heard about the Agency quite a few places on Valarnet and it didn’t take a genius to know that someone was covering up the things that happened for the rest of Orange County. “So, I’d be, what, keeping an eye on everyone?” It seemed like a fairly simple job, especially for the son of the World’s Greatest Detective. “Eh, I’m sure it’s gotten out to network users over the years,” Cindy shrugged, and she didn’t particularly think much was secret about The Agency except for the inner workings - especially since she’d seen recruiting done via Valarnet, or Agency employees reaching out on behalf of the organization. Besides, most people who experienced the dreams weren’t idiots - they knew that something had to be done to keep as tight of a lid on the OC as possible. Transparency was good sometimes. They were working for the good of the OC, not against anyone. “Yeah, it’d be watching the watchers so to speak,” she explained, sucking some frosting off of her thumb. “And also pitching in when shit hits the fan. I’m usually out there with my pumpkin carriage of war but this - “ Cindy motioned to her baby bump, “...means I can’t be these days, and not until the twins are more sturdy after they come out.” Which she was looking forward to already - being pregnant was great and all, but overall she’d sort of decided she didn’t want to do it again once this was done. “So you’d be responsible for a lot, since it’s just us in the Division. Or will be. Good benefits and pay, I might add, if that’s a selling point.” Damian’s brows rose slightly, “Pumpkin carriage of war?” All he could imagine how was the silver pumpkin coach from the movie with cannons that shot pumpkins. “So, how long have you been watching me?” He had thought that he was usually extremely stealthy when he went out patrolling, but that didn’t mean someone else wasn’t stealthier; and besides, he did post often on the Network about his dreams and certain things that happened on said patrols. Any other young person his age would probably jump on the chance just for the money alone, but Damian still had quite a lot of money from his mother, so it wasn’t like he necessarily needed the extra money to live on, but it would be nice to have and he was curious about the benefits of a secret government organization. Damian was a stealthy sort, but Cindy was too - she’d been an FBI agent (undercover) in this life, and a spy crossing enemy lines in the last. So she prided herself on her work - she wasn’t much of a diplomat or a peacemaker, but she knew how to mindfuck someone’s shit up. “A few weeks,” she grinned. “I did some research too. I wanted someone who had been in the area for awhile and was already well acquainted with their dreams. It’s honestly a pretty good gig - and, you know, I’d be understanding of any dream crossover crap that makes life hell.” You sort of had to be, when you lived here. She felt like she’d faced it all at this point. “But yeah, health insurance, dental plans...vacation days?” she started in on her fruit tart, now that the cupcake had been devoured. “I can give you a tour of the facility first if you want.” “Sounds like I’m going to have to be more careful from now on when I’m out. Don’t want to have anyone else spying on me,” Damian smirked and took a sip of his drink, “A tour would be great. I mean, I’d like to see where I’m going to be working.” He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t intrigued about what this Agency was all about. It also only made sense that Damian would eventually join some sort of team and he was sure that this time it would go better than his stint in the Teen Titans had. “Sounds good. Here’s where you can reach me,” Cindy passed over a business card with her contact info on it. No frills, just info. It was how she operated. “Just let me know when would be an ideal day for you and I’ll set it up.” She wouldn’t be going on maternity leave for awhile, a few months, but it would be nice to be prepared beforehand. And know that someone capable would actually be in her division, and be able to handle things while she was going nuts with two restless infants who only knew how to cry to express themselves. |