InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "T-a-y to the Z."

Katherine Athena (oceantoocean) wrote in we_float,
@ 2010-05-29 10:13:00

Current music:	"The Package" : A Perfect Circle
Entry tags:	character: alec tremont, character: katherine athena

"Clever got me this far... then tricky got me in..."
Who: Alec Tremont and Katherine Athena.
What: Alec's been recruited to the cause... possibly.
When: Saturday, May 29, 2096
Where: How to Cook a Wolf, Queen Anne, Seattle
Status: Closed; complete

Another meeting, this time with someone that she hadn't recruited.

A wry smile cracking her lips, Katherine wondered how that would go. She studied the menu casually. Italian food was something that she loved, particularly for first meetings. It was so often messy.

She glanced down at her watch, tapping the newsfeed so that she could watch the headlines scroll by. Another murder, this one of a young girl who'd been unfortunate enough to bear a joker that gave her horns on her forehead. Katherine shuddered slightly, tapping through to the next story. Another series of gun laws was being proposed and she sighed. It was likely that her constituents were flooding the office lines even as she glanced at the scrolling text.

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 10:45 pm UTC (link)
	"Not much," she said, still pleasant as she opened her own menu. "I'd rather hear it from you." What a man said of his own accomplishments spoke volumes about the man himself. Katherine was relatively sure Alec had an encyclopedia's worth. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fireworkatdawn
2010-05-29 10:53 pm UTC (link)

"Fair enough. I work with computers. It will tell you on a my resume that I'm a consultant, primarily doing programming of various kinds. It won't tell you that I specialize in de-programming, re-programming, and infiltrating the programs of others. But I do. And I'm very good."

His speech was a lazy, affected aristocratic drawl, and the look on his face was smug.

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 10:56 pm UTC (link)
	"Then what brought you here?" She glanced down at the menu. It listed no prices. Katherine had a distinct feeling that Alec would know, and proceed to order, the most expensive item on it. She gestured the waiter over out of her own curiosity. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fireworkatdawn
2010-05-29 11:07 pm UTC (link)

Alec tapped his phone to stop the application while the waiter was at the table. It was hardly unique, and he was certain that others had used something similar to keep conversations held in public from being overheard on a regular basis. Still, there was no need to call attention to themselves.

Once the waiter was gone, he tapped it back on. "Well, as it turns out, I was summoned by one-quarter of a person, believing it to be an old friend. As it turns out, he is merely a fragment of said friend, who found me via social networking sites. Which, I have to admit, is rather entertaining, in hindsight."

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 11:14 pm UTC (link)
	"Clearly," she commented, "You haven't met the others yet." Katherine took a sip of her water, trying not to reveal her own amusement at what he found entertaining. She wondered how much he'd been told. "Excuse me if I'm incorrect," she continued. "But you don't seem the type to follow a puzzle for its own sake. Why are you here?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	fireworkatdawn 2010-05-29 11:21 pm UTC (link)
	"Because," he said, then paused to take a sip of water, "I was promised the opportunity to be very irritating to the government, which was for me, what's the saying? Ah yes. An offer I couldn't refuse." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 11:24 pm UTC (link)
	"Irritating in what way?" She asked. "I question your motives in saying that so baldly to an elected official." He could counter that, if he would. Katherine leaned back in her chair, waiting for his answer or better yet, a sign of ability. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	fireworkatdawn 2010-05-29 11:31 pm UTC (link)
	"Oh, honestly." He rolled his eyes. "I question your motives in trying to quietly, subtly undermine everything you've stood for, Senator. And yet here I am. I'll lead you a merry waltz if you'd like, but never reaching the count of four is so tiresome, don't you think?" (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 11:35 pm UTC (link)
	This was not a position that she relished standing in. Katherine made a quiet note to herself to have his background more thoroughly checked in. "That depends on who's doing the waltzing and the reasons for not reaching the count," she answered. "You say that you're incredibly competent. Show me." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	fireworkatdawn 2010-05-29 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	He smiled and picked up his phone. "What would like to know?" he asked. "Bearing in mind that this is not my computer, and does not have quite all of the functions I'd like to have at my disposal." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	oceantoocean 2010-05-29 11:42 pm UTC (link)
	"Andrea Haller, Senator from Nevada. Democrat." Katherine said quietly. "Show me something about her." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

fireworkatdawn
2010-05-29 11:52 pm UTC (link)

"A moment."

His focus turned entirely to his fingers on the screen of the phone, tapping and scrolling, frowning to himself. The frown deepened to a scowl, then a growl, and finally a triumphant grin. "There we are."

He handed the phone to her. On it was displayed icons for several files. "It would seem that there is a strong history of a degenerative neurological disorder in her family. Those files are for a discreet private quote-unquote rest home where family members are quietly sent when they are no longer fit for public display. Several of them are deceased in public record."

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oceantoocean
2010-05-29 11:55 pm UTC (link)

"Interesting," she said, her voice cooler than she felt. This was very interesting, indeed. However, Katherine thought to herself that betraying that fact wasn't prudent.

"So you have the information. How would you use this to your advantage?" A dangerous, but telling, question. Katherine had asked him about Andrea to better judge what information he might have on her own activities. Haller was one of her peers in the Senate, if less politically vocal.

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fireworkatdawn
2010-05-30 12:05 am UTC (link)

"It depends on what the desired result is," Alec said. He paused as their food arrived, and let the thought linger as he took a bite and chewed slowly.

"It's unlikely I personally would need this information for any reason. I'm not a political creature, really. But say there was someone else running for senator in Nevada, who wanted to unseat Ms. Haller. With this information, they might let it leak that some members of her family, previously believed to be dead, are, in fact, alive, albeit non compos mentis. This would certainly bring into question the incumbent senator's fitness to hold her seat, if she likes about little things like life and death. Particularly since this particular degenerative disorder doesn't start to manifest until one's late thirties or early forties. And ah yes, Senator Haller just celebrated her forty-first birthday. Really, it wouldn't even need to be a direct opponent. It would be useful to anyone who wanted to call the senator's judgment into question."

He turned back to his food.

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oceantoocean
2010-05-30 12:14 am UTC (link)

Good. He was good, despite his arrogance, and Katherine decided in that moment that it might be to her advantage to have him on the team. It was certainly to her disadvantage to leave him alive otherwise.

"What do you expect out of our arrangement?" She phrased the words carefully as her knife slid into the steak on her plate, revealing a dark rich color. Synthetic food was never on her table.

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	fireworkatdawn 2010-05-30 12:19 am UTC (link)
	"As I said, I'm a relatively simple creature. The basics - food, shelter, etcetera - seem to be taken care of already. Sufficient monetary compensation to keep me in computer parts." He shrugged. "And in the unlikely event that anything I do in your employ does somehow get traced back to me, I expect protection from consequences." (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

oceantoocean
2010-05-30 12:23 am UTC (link)

"Reasonable terms," she said. "I would like a little bit of clarification, however, of the type of work you expect to be doing."

Katherine gestured at the device. "You work in the ether. It's difficult for me to keep any sort of tabs on what you consider work done in my employ, yet you would like me to act accountable for it. Where do you consider the line between your personal interests and my own?"

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fireworkatdawn
2010-05-30 12:27 am UTC (link)

"Funny, I'd like a little clarification on what type of work you'd be expecting me to do. But as far as the different between my personal interests and yours, well... if it gets me in trouble, I'll obviously claim I was doing it for you. I'm not stupid."

He waved his hand. "Anything you specifically ask me to look up, obviously, is your work. Anything I infiltrate to assist you or yours is your work. Anything I insert into the media to further your cause is your work. Anything I'd rather you had no idea I was doing... that's my work."

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	oceantoocean 2010-05-30 12:30 am UTC (link)
	"At this time, the work that I prefer you do is that necessary to protect the interests of those individuals in the Anhalt. Particularly where it comes to registration." She didn't look away. "Registration for wild cards is coming, that much I'm certain of. While it may be unavoidable for some of them, I prefer to minimize the risk." (Reply to this) (Parent)

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