|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Jan 30, 2012 19:27:57 GMT -5
Month 6, Week 3, Day 6, semi-private _____________________________
Every single moment that Onslaught is not occupying his mind, his thoughts divert to realize the condition he has found himself in. The prison of meat that holds him prisoner and is chipping away at his sanity. The flowing of blood through his veins, the headache that now comes every time he engages in heavy thinking, his own breath that brushes over his lips...It is torturous. At times it has been enough to make him miss the dark, empty silence he has been trapped in for so very long.
So he tries to distract himself. Thankfully, his identity came with plenty of things to do. Right now he is sitting in the back of his limo, a tablet in his right hand that is displaying several news articles, coffee in his left, his eyes glancing downwards while his ears are focused on the woman in the vehicle with him. "...No activity of our alien friends, then. Fascinating." Sip. "What do we know of the mutant that thinks itself a wood spirit?"
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Jan 30, 2012 20:28:45 GMT -5
"'Fascinating' is not the word I would use," Cipher says, not looking up from her tablet. Her stylus flicks rapidly across the screen in the glyphs used by professionals instead of handwriting analysis. "'Dangerous'. That is a word I would use. Especially since we still don't know where they are when they're not on Earth."
She lifts her eyes briefly from her tablet. "Mostly harmless. If she believes herself to be a woodsprite, she likely won't leave her grove. As there's nothing there of interest to us..."
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Jan 30, 2012 20:41:27 GMT -5
"Danger is fascinating, my dear." He corrects in turn, before he takes another sip from his coffee. He may actually love this stuff. It keeps his brain active, on top of the mentats he's already been eating like candies.
He does look up from his tablet to glance at her brief report. "She is occupying a construction site for one of the major corporations, and nothing has managed to get through to her. It will become our business sooner or later." Especially if she's who he thinks he is.
He looks back down at his tablet, thumbing through various articles, and he's about to say something when he is interrupted by a sudden vibrating in his breast pocket. At first, he believes it to be his phone, but he remembers that his is clasped to his belt.
Then he realizes what it is, and he drops both coffee and tablet as his eyes go wide. "Cipher. Cancel all of my appointments for the next two hours, possibly for the rest of today. Tell the driver to head to my apartment, now."
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Jan 30, 2012 21:01:19 GMT -5
"No, danger is dangerous. That's the whole point." Cipher finishes her e-mail, taps Send, then brings up a few reports she needs to go over with Arthur.
Then the man spills coffee all over his lap, the limo floor, and his tablet.
She raises her eyebrows. He's been a little out of his head ever since he gave her the assignment to find those people who had suddenly become other people. No one who hadn't worked with him for years in both of his shapes would have noticed it, but she didn't think that state of affairs would last long.
"Of course. Arthur, there should be towels in the bar." Her stylus taps against the screen, first sending a text message to the driver, then clearing out appointments. Hm, several of these she'll need to call.
The limo is already turning around as she pulls out her smartphone.
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Jan 31, 2012 5:03:34 GMT -5
He is reminded of the frailty of this form as the coffee is hot enough to burn his leg as it seeps through the fabric of his pants. It hurts. But he is more concerned with digging out the source of the disturbance, while his other hand idly reaches for a towel. It's a pager. Not even a state of the art one like the hospitals use, but one from the nineties. A simple relic, with some kind of device attached to it. Arthur's lip twitches as he glances down at it. If this is Starscream calling...But what if it isn't?
There is nothing else he can do now but wait as the driver heads home. He clutches the pager, fingers tapping against it as he looks out of the window. Fantasizing that he is back in his true form and is rampaging through traffic...Or even better, just being able to answer his gorram radio without having to race across town.
He is agitated, and it shows.
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Jan 31, 2012 20:16:00 GMT -5
Cipher's tone is pleasant as she calls off several of Arthur's appointments. Her words are not. "Mr. Aldrin will not see you today. Provide three alternative meeting slots available in the next week. Now."
When she's done making calls, she studies Arthur. He's always been more emotive in this face, but this is unusual even for him.
"Is there something I or the Senior Partners should know about?"
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Jan 31, 2012 20:57:08 GMT -5
Cipher just gets a glare that fully expresses his agitation. "Situation at home." That is all he gives her. Then he looks out of the window, fingers tapping impatiently.
The second that the car comes to a stop near his luxury apartment building, he opens the door and practically jumps out. Cipher can follow him if she feels inclined too, as long as she adequately protects her identity. There's a big emergency hat in the cabinets for just such an occassion. Arthur walks at a brisk pace through the lobby, ignoring the girl at the lobby who smiles at him, and he swiftly presses the elevator door.
And waits.
25th floor.
And waits.
23rd floor.
Taps his foot.
21st floor.
And waits.
19th floor.
And runs towards the stairwell.
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Jan 31, 2012 21:48:42 GMT -5
Cipher obtains the emergency hat and puts it on. It's a rather fabulous black hat with a gold ribbon around the band and two peacock feathers. While it does an adequate job of concealing her face, its primary purpose is to draw attention to itself.
As added insurance, she unbuttons the top three buttons of her blouse.
Then, and only then, does she step out of the limo and walk sedately into the apartment complex. The elevator dings open as she arrives.
She steps in, presses the button for Arthur's floor, and waits.
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Feb 1, 2012 5:29:05 GMT -5
While Cipher calmly rides in the convenient elevator, Arthur is climbing the staircases faster than he has ever done. Ten floors. It reminds him of the frailty of his form. How quickly it tires. It is through sheer willpower that he ignores the aches and forces himself to continue.
Then finally he arrives on his floor, likely after Cipher has already done so. He runs up to his door, fishes for the keycard, and pushes the door open. "Close it behind you." Then, he makes a bee line for his bedroom, where he opens a closet and starts digging through the clothes and boxes it holds.
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Feb 1, 2012 11:36:22 GMT -5
Unfortunately for Arthur, she's already done up her blouse. She knows the man, after all.
"Of course."
After doing so, Cipher follows him, mindful of the windows and the angles of nearby buildings. Even here, she's not going to ignore the possibility of a sniper taking a shot at her.
She waits in the doorway, incredibly curious to find out what's so important.
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Feb 1, 2012 19:21:48 GMT -5
Oh please. He has much bigger concerns. He has a phone to answer.
Clothes are pushed aside, boxes are moved out of the way. Cipher can rest easy as she waits. No round can penetrate the windows. It would take a missile to get through, and while that is not impossible, it's a bit hard to carry rocket launchers unseen to a proper vantage point.
Then, finally, he gets to what he's after. A simple box, filled with foam peanuts. Carefully, he pulls out what is inside this treasure chest: a device that looks like something ET build, if he had access to Tony Stark's lab. If Tony Stark focused on mobile phones. He presses his thumb against a fingerprint scanner that is attached to the device with tubes and wires, and he uses this time to glance at Cipher. "Before you ask: Yes, I build what I asked the R&D team to develop. No, they do not know that there is already a working prototype. And no, you can't take it to show them."
Then he turns back to the device, fingers sliding over the touchpad, murmuring softly to himself, "If that moron Starscream called, it better be for a damn good reason..."
"Authorization acknowledged. You have one missed call. Caller ID: [Blackarachnia's frequency.] No voice message."
His eyes go wide. "Blackarachnia."
He dials without hesitation. Cipher is all but forgotten now.
"Encrypting. Dialing. Please hold. You may speak now."
"This is Onslaught reporting in. Do you copy."
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Feb 1, 2012 19:47:46 GMT -5
"R&D can develop an encrypted communication device capable of reaching the far side of the moon without a prototype, Arthur." Cipher sounds amused.
She waits, and- That is not his codename. Not in either of his forms. This can't be a project of any of the Senior Partners; they would inform her if they meant her to know about it, and he wouldn't let her be here if she weren't.
There had best be a damn fine explanation for this. If there isn't...
There's a modified derringer inside her jacket, she thinks coolly as she twists her opal ring until the barbs slide out the underside.
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Feb 2, 2012 7:30:08 GMT -5
"Yet they have failed to even produce anything more than schematics while I made this in a day. We need to expand the R&D department. Put 'find evil telecom engineers' on my to do list."
No response. Not a good sign. Either she is defragmenting, imprisoned, or in the same position as him. Most likely the latter. That will make things difficult. For one, he will have to wait. How bothersome.
With a sigh he stands up, crosses his arms and looks down at the device in annoyance, not making eye contact with his companion. "I'm going to make some tea. This might take a while." Pause. "Would you like some as well, Cipher?"
|
|
Frenzy
Minor
Emperor of Profaningshire
Fscking Bigjobs
Posts: 339
|
Post by Frenzy on Feb 2, 2012 22:15:34 GMT -5
"They do have other projects," Cipher reminds him. "And done."
'Find evil telecom engineers' has not only been added to Arthur's to-do list, he'll receive an e-mail reminder about it every other day until he tells Cipher to knock it off or he hires some.
"I would, thank you. Do you have time to go over a few of these reports?"
|
|
|
Post by Assault/Arthur Aldrin on Feb 3, 2012 12:19:55 GMT -5
"Thank you." Thankfully, it will be easy to find people in the SSSPR database who fit that bill. Should probably be some who were involved in that big thoughts-reading-signal scandal of a few years ago.
"Yes. I have nothing better to do until I receive a reply, after all." Then he turns his head far enough to glance at her. Is she not at all curious as to what is going on, or does he have the best assistant ever?
|
|