Nikolai was tempted to chuckle at Conall’s words, despite the gravity of the situation. Anyone who could keep their wits about them enough to make a quip in this admittedly unusual and jarring situation deserved some appreciation. He rearranged his suit jacket, smoothing over the creases, and buttoning it up, effectively hiding the holstered weapon from view, as well as making it more difficult to access. It was a very mild and subtle gesture to indicate his lack of desire to actually use his gun. One he thought spoke to their nonviolent intentions. As a rule, he preferred that it acted as a deterrent rather than an actual tool of violence, despite his proficiency with firearms.
“I think my partner made it relatively clear that we’re people who would like to have a simple conversation with you. Nothing more or less. My name is Nik,” he shared, opting for his plain (and rather less well-liked) nickname instead of his more distinctive full name. Names, he felt, went a long way toward establishing a conversation. They weren’t on equal footing, obviously, but it tended to make things marginally less adversarial. He left it to Brian’s discretion whether he wanted to share his name as well.
His chilly professionalism remained in place. Then again, it was practically a way of life for him at this point, so maintaining it wasn’t an issue. “And surely you must understand that just because one owns a gun doesn’t mean one necessarily wants to shoot people with it. Simply a matter of personal protection.”
Crossing his arms, he looked over at Brian, lifting an eyebrow, and projected a thought to his friend, Ball’s in your court. Nikolai would much rather that the other agent start asking the questions since he was well-aware of Brian’s vastly superior knowledge when it came to the specifics of hacking and all computer-related skills. The telepath could chime in with questions of his own as the timing called for it.