InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "I want a Scooby snack!"

Katherine Athena (oceantoocean) wrote in we_float,
@ 2010-05-11 20:31:00

Current music:	"Candidate" : David Bowie
Entry tags:	plot: the city sleeps

"We'll pretend we're walking home 'cause your future's at stake..."
Who: All characters who received a black envelope, plus Katherine Athena, Alistair Icenhour, and Tereska Wasserbach.
What: The web begins to unravel. Or the first part, anyhow.
When: May 8th
Where: Anhalt Building, 1005 E. Roy Street. Begins on the upper floor.
Status: Open; in progress.
Notes: This thread is likely to run slow because of work schedules and the east/west time zone divide. Sorry about that... :( You're welcome to continue on the other thread. This simply takes place at a nebulous time afterwards.

It was time.

It had been past time from the moment the senator had heard ""Well, I don't think it'll actually answer... just that we might get a response if we ask for one." That was all that Katherine needed to stand up, nodding to her companions as she unlocked the door to the upstairs room and stepped out into the hallway.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty space, the sound of her heels confident as they crossed the floorboards, pausing for a moment on the stair.

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tasteofmetal
2010-05-12 03:51 am UTC (link)

Tereska took that as her cue and smiled slightly at nothing in particular as she stepped around the other woman. It suited the fiction to pretend that she was simply an agent, assigned to protect her principal, though the truth was somewhat more complex.

They - whoever they'd managed to catch in their trap, she amended sourly - hadn't left the lower room, though she still looked carefully at the spaces she was walking into. Reaching the closed door, she put one hand on the knob, but looked back at the other two, one eyebrow raised in question.

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theseainsideme
2010-05-12 04:26 am UTC (link)

Alistair didn't feel particularly nervous about the situation, but he didn't want to be here. It went against the behind-the-scenes persona he'd adopted and adapted and lived in for the entirety of his adult life. Here he was, part of a dramatic entrance.

He knew that Tereska wasn't going on his cue, but he gestured for her to go ahead, looking not especially convinced that this was going to be prudent in the least.

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-12 04:29 am UTC (link)
	Katherine nodded, stepping just slightly in front of Alistair. She needed him at her back this time. There was no telling what lay just beyond. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

tasteofmetal
2010-05-12 04:39 am UTC (link)

Her hand was gentle on the door as she pushed it open carefully, only the looseness of her stance indicating any apprehension of what might be on the other side. She hadn't liked that the mutants had found the bug, but she wasn't paid to like it when an operation got blown.

It looked safe enough. At least, most of them seemed to have been caught off guard. She looked them all over, carefully evaluating threats, and gestured - it looked safe enough for the other two to come in, at any rate.

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	theseainsideme 2010-05-12 04:44 am UTC (link)
	Alistair gave Katherine a look to ask if she wanted to back out. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

oceantoocean
2010-05-12 04:51 am UTC (link)

Her finger tugged at her left ear for a moment as she frowned, her eyes fixed on the scene before her. Then the woman slid into a seat at the table's head, her ankles crossing delicately as she relaxed into the chair.

"Thank you all for coming." The truth was, behind that smile, Katherine was expecting a firestorm. "I realize that you all must have questions." She closed it at that, knowing that it wasn't likely that she would be allowed to say more before their shock wore off.

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	timestoodstill 2010-05-12 04:57 am UTC (link)
	"Hey, whaddaya know? Talking to the bug worked. I'll have to keep that in mind next time I'm taking a test and don't know the answer - look for any six-legged passers-by." He grinned. "So Big Sister, Big Sister, and Big Brother are listening. Why?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	oceantoocean 2010-05-12 05:02 am UTC (link)
	"Some people would say the question was, 'why not'?" Her gaze rested on the man in front of him, trying to place the name and the face. "Why doesn't everyone take a seat and we'll discuss it?" Her mouth tilted up just slightly as she looked at those clustered around the table and in some cases, half under it. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	timestoodstill 2010-05-12 05:09 am UTC (link)
	"Ten chairs. Thirteen people. Close enough for government work?" He smirked. "Isn't thirteen people at a gathering supposed to be bad luck?" He moved to the side of the table opposite where everyone was gathered around the overturned chair and took a seat about about halfway down, pulling out the one next to it for Maxxie. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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	sparkleboi 2010-05-12 01:52 pm UTC (link)
	"Go me," JT mumbled as he moved to take a chair near Tom. (Reply to this) (Parent)

oceantoocean
2010-05-12 10:38 pm UTC (link)

Well. So she wasn't going to get out of the conversation anonymously. Katherine had known that going in, however, and her face didn't appear stressed as she pondered the question of identity.

After all, in the end there were far more valuable secrets than her name.

"Katherine is my name," she said, pausing for a moment to see if it registered. "In this case, I don't represent corporate or government interests. What I'm asking is for the group of you to form a coalition, to show others that the wild card isn't cause for condemnation. What I'm offering is security, money... amnesty, as much as that can be provided."

What she was really asking them to do was be the Four Aces. But looking at this group, Katherine thought, it wouldn't be wise to say it so blatantly.

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	timestoodstill 2010-05-12 10:47 pm UTC (link)
	"Why us?" Tom asked, more curious than demanding, and certain he was asking what everyone else was thinking. "Why us in particular? Two of us haven't even drawn." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

oceantoocean
2010-05-12 11:01 pm UTC (link)

"And may never draw. I know that." Katherine's eyes lit upon JT, first, then Ganesh. "If I call upon only jokers or only aces or nats, that will only schism the situation further. What needs to be proven is that all of us can work together towards the common good."

The actual criteria on which she had drawn was significantly more pragmatic. Each member of this group had a secret. And one that could be manipulated.

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timestoodstill
2010-05-12 11:07 pm UTC (link)

"You didn't answer my question," Tom said. "Why the ten of us? Why me? Why Maxxie? Why JT and everyone else? We're far from the only aces, jokers, and nats in the city, so there must have been some reason, something that made us stand out to you, made us think that we would want to help you. How did you find us, choose, us, out of hundreds of thousands, millions of people?"

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oceantoocean
2010-05-12 11:13 pm UTC (link)

Katherine smiled quietly, her lips still pressed neatly together.

"Random chance, in part," she replied. "Although geographic location was a piece of it. Research. Speaking to people who knew you. Records. Each one of you is different. Each one of you was researched differently."

Her posture grew more relaxed. "I could tell you specifically why each of you was selected but in some cases, I feel as if sharing that information would be delicate. The reasons are as simple in some instances as trusting that a person would be curious enough to want to see if this experiment has any effect on how others perceive the wild card, as crass as thinking that throwing a large sum of money might motivate others, as righteous as believing that some of the people in this room might wish to save the victims of the storm that is coming."

"For there is a storm on the way," Katherine said quietly. "The last Wild Cards Act was passed in an era that had considerably stricter morals than we do now. Or, if not that, limited creativity."

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timestoodstill
2010-05-12 11:26 pm UTC (link)

"What does that matter?" Tom asked. He realized he should probably let others ask questions, but he couldn't keep the words back. "Shouldn't that help us? I mean, if morals," he grimaced at the word, "aren't as strict, you would think that would mean people would care less about people's... oddities. Right? Unless you think this signifies some sort of moral backlash. But why now? You obviously know better than we do what's going on out there. So was there some incident that spurred this?" He forced himself to stop, or risk having half of his questions get lost in the shuffle and not answered.

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palehorses
2010-05-13 12:39 am UTC (link)

"Get real," Matt said, but his tone remained cheerful, and he clearly intended no insult. "They haven't brought back the acts just for fun. Whether we're less moral now isn't really the question, because unless I'm not understanding the situation correctly, they just took away most of our rights. Maybe all of them. Until a couple hours ago, I would've agreed with you." A nod at Tom. "Now - I'm not quite so sanguine."

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oceantoocean
2010-05-13 12:43 am UTC (link)

"Morals also determine how we treat other people," Katherine replied to Tom. "Or at least, I would regard that as a question of personal morality. In terms of why now... there is a piece of legislation that has just been signed that provides the federal and state governments the justification to begin legalizing prejudice."

She wasn't going to state the obvious--if the group didn't grasp the importance of what was being filtered through the radio now, it wasn't something that a stranger would communicate to them. They would have to come to that conclusion alone.

Glancing around the room, she added, "I've given you a choice. And it is that--a choice. I'm willing to pay you for your time and to provide this space for your use. What I want from you is a pledge that you'll work towards re-establishing the status of wild cards." Katherine stood. "I don't expect any of you to act on this without time to think. It wouldn't be fair or reasonable."

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	timestoodstill 2010-05-13 12:48 am UTC (link)
	"What I meant," Tom said, "what I think maybe you're in a better position to know than we are, is why they've suddenly brought the Wild Card Acts back. That's what I'm not getting; why now? Did I miss something that made the legislators of this country decide that all of a sudden, a hundred some years later, we're not human anymore?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

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oceantoocean
2010-05-14 01:07 am UTC (link)

"I am the government," Katherine said. It wasn't a card she'd wanted to turn but there seemed no choice. She reached into her purse and handed Maxxie a business card. The Senate logo shone as her name began scrolling across the surface, activated by her touch.

"I can pull enough strings to keep you safe, if you prove worthy of it." She leaned back. Invisible strings at best but there was no need to explain that now. "And yes, the Four Aces didn't end well but it was the Wild Card hysteria that broke them. It didn't create them."

Katherine looked each one of them in the eye for a moment.

"It won't be easy. Nothing worth having ever is. But you have a chance to show the public that aces, jokers, and nats can band together. You won't be openly affiliated with the government but neither will the government stop you, provided you follow the law or at least... don't get caught doing otherwise." She waited a moment before saying, "I don't expect an immediate answer, nor do I want one unless you're absolutely certain. And if you would prefer to converse with me in private, we can do that as well."

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timestoodstill
2010-05-14 01:27 am UTC (link)

"How long?" Tom asked. "How long do we have to make up our minds, and are you going to be looking for us while we do? Because otherwise we're captive here, because the minute we step outside of here, most of us are targets, if anyone else knows what you know. Also, if we do say yes, do we still get to live our lives? Go to school, go to work, visit our families? Just how yours are we?"

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tasteofmetal
2010-05-14 01:35 am UTC (link)

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Tereska said, and oddly, she did seem like she regretted saying it, "but if we know who you are, other people might as well. That's not a threat, but it's something you might want to consider."

It grated, playing to their fears and concerns, grated like little she'd ever had to do before, but she'd seen the moment that they'd shifted away from Katherine, and it was because of what she'd said. Even if standing here trying to have a debate about it was, to her mind, foolish - agree and double cross them later, if they had that many reservations - she could accept that the other woman wanted this to happen. And she didn't have a lot of motivation to fuck this up, at least.

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oceantoocean
2010-05-14 01:44 am UTC (link)

"Slavery's illegal," Katherine answered Tom. "In terms of how mine you are? That's up to those who stay. This is a job like any other. I may make advisements from time to time, requests... but I have no Wild Card connection. My interest is personal and I can't claim that I will always know best. That's why I asked so many of you, hoping that differing viewpoints might mitigate some of the potential problems."

She sighed, then said, "I'd like your answer in two weeks. I won't pressure you but neither will I keep you safe from whatever outside forces exist."

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	timestoodstill 2010-05-14 01:49 am UTC (link)
	"Fair enough," Tom said. "I assume you just gave Maxxie a means to get in contact with you? That won't be monitored by the rest of the government?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

oceantoocean
2010-05-14 01:54 am UTC (link)

"I did." She set a stack of cards on the table, one for each of them. She would ask Alistair to collect any that were not taken later. "And no, these cannot be monitored by others. They're unregistered." Katherine paused. "And I intend for them to remain that way."

She took a step back.

"You can contact me at the numbers on the cards at any time. For now, I suggest that you depart, exchange numbers, do what you like. It's time for all of us to step back and consider the offer."

And with that, Katherine nodded to Tereska and Alistair, quietly walking out the door.

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