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Emet:
Charleville has taken over one of the breakout rooms here. He's got two laptops up along with an ear piece, feeding him a phone call. He's got his feet kicked up on the table, a VR headset on his head, and is tossing a football up into the air and catching it as though it might well be transmitted into his goggles, besides.
"--nah, I get that," he can be heard saying once Klaire's near enough the door to make out the words. "I'm saying every continuance we get now is another news cycle 6ABC is talkin' 'bout--" Spin. Catch. Spin. Catch. "Right. I don't see why we're not playing ball up front with the dates now, if we're asking for continuances to see if we can--" Spin. Catch. Spin. Catch. He's smiling broadly now. "Right. And if we're pushing for dismissals anyway...? Pushing out the dates won't matter, so long as they're not in pretrial detention. Right. Right! That's what I'm saying!". Spin. Catch. Spin. Catch.
"Yep. Coolcool. Cool! Yep. Peace." The call ends, he catches the ball, and he pulls off the headset with a chuckle.
Klaire:
Klaire hesitated when she heard him clearly on the phone. She had a manilla folder in her hands, and was dressed casually. Jeans and a tshirt, with a sweater overtop because it was COLD. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail. Rook was, unfortunatly, not with her. She figured it was a bad idea.
She only approached when the conversation seemed to be wrapping up. Gently tapping the door in a knock and giving a silent nod. A quiet ask of 'may I come in?'
Emet:
Caught being smug and relaxing, Charleville startles at the rapping at the door and sits up in his chair at once, legs spinning off the table as though his mom just got home. He takes the ear piece off his ear and sets it down near the table's conference phone, then tosses Klaire a chin up right back.
His hackles don't quite go up, but his sudden wariness is hard to mistake. He doesn't bother trying to fake a smile, either. But he does gesture to the chair across from him. "Can I help you?" It's a bit bag boy at the grocery store, but it sounds sincere enough.
Klaire:
She grimaces as he immedietly gets up, a dismissive hand.
"You can tell me to fuck off and I will leave this with you and leave without anything else. I wish to apologize if you are willing." The this in question being the manilla folder.
Emet:
He stays seated, but his eyes track to the folder, then to her face again with a brow furrow of bemusement. So he starts with the thing he can handle.
"Depends on what for?" He once ore gestures to the seat across the table from him. "Shut the door if you're sitting down."
Klaire:
She shuts the door and sits across from him. It's a careful sit, like she is trying to not upset him.
"My behavior and privilege. I recognize I was...not a good person, and that it was not what I want to be known for. I wish to change and...the first step is acknowledging I treated you and everyone else there unfairly." A slight bow to her head. "I'm deeply sorry for how I treated you after the ri- protest."
Emet:
"Thank you." Charleville says that after some consideration, scooting back into his chair in a manner that reads a bit defensively.
"I need you to know where I think things went wrong. A lot of times people are scared, you know. That they're meeting some big shot magic dude who's gonna tell them how it is. I don't do that, and I didn't want you seeing someone that would do that. I thought if I was just, you know. Myself, just chill ass Charlie? That you'd see me. And I felt like all you wanted to see was my weed. And from that point on, man, you just knew every fucking thing about me, didn't you? Felt like it."
"I been running from that feeling my whole life. And once I thought that was all you thought I was, I just. I dunno. I wasn't real kind to you, Klaire. I could have handled a lot of things better than I did, I just didn't think you deserved it from me anymore. On account of..." He shrugs. "I should have just called you on your bullshit that first night. Instead of pushing it down and waiting to shove it back in your face. So I'm sorry I didn't. I'm sorry I did it how I did it."
"I just need you to know I meant what I said after the protest. Just. Not how I said it. You get me? Those people won something, and I don't think you and I have a right to take that away from them. I felt like we should get behind them and push. It's like I said, Klaire. This was always there. All I was that night was a catalyst. I didn't tell 'em what to do, where to go. I didn't tell 'em who to swing at or where to run for after they swung. You know? All of us give humanity too little fucking credit. The Free Council is supposed to be all about empowering them and their choices. And if I'd put it to you like that, I think maybe we... probably. You know. Wouldn't have to be doing. This apology shit. So."
Klaire:
Klaire nods slowly. "I think...that was the start of it as well. I would appreciate being called out on my bullshit in the future."
She pauses. "May I...explain my own thought process, and how I see it is now wrong?"
Emet:
He's grinning now. As though she just said the exact right thing, "Yeah, please!"
Klaire:
A slight nod. Glad he was more relaxed.
"I come from...well a rich ass family. Both my parents are admins and teachers at Carnegie Mellon. My mother is from Paris. They are...not my favorite people. I went to Strayer, here in Philly. I was tired of being daddy's little girl, and wanted my own life."
A breath. "So it upset me that it felt like all you saw in me was some rich privileged asshole, when that was a view I've been trying to get away from myself. I have tried to...be a caring individual...I see my job as a way to give back to the community. That those I help are those who are in the worst of places, those missing loved ones. But I see that...well thats not exactly the same as being a part of that community."
A gesture to the manilla folder before she slides it across the table to him. "The people you lead were in pain, and that hurt to see. But it was pain that they were expressing publicly. Not gaining through the protest. You have them an outlet that I just hadn't seen before and...its a wonderful show of community. After talking to my partner I...realized something. You were right, I'm not one to throw myself at the front line. Im a caring individual who wants others safe. I...my partner invited me to the next protest...and I would like to go. I would...also like to provide something. A tent to...just offer water and first aid to the protesters, and perhaps also a safe space for those that get overwhelmed. Just...a way to give back to the people that are so much braver than I am."
Emet:
He purses his lips tightly in what can only be described as his White People Smile(tm). That awkward, almost frog-faced rictus white people adopt when indicating social awkwardness in an apologetic manner. It's hilarious code-switching from him, genuinely.
"So when I was riffing with you about your name and trying to give you a nickname and shit you thought that was me treating you like some rich ass white lady rather than my friend Klaire, huh? Like. You saw how I carried on with Mark and Mary, right? Two of my best friends in the whole world. And you saw me treating you the exact same way as them and you got it in your head that all I saw in you was rich ass white lady."
"That was always all you, Klaire. Right up until you proved it true, there, for a hot minute. I offered to smoke you up. In my house. You were flinching the second you saw me, and that has a lot more to do with you than it does with me. Cos, fuck. I treated you like an already-friend and you slapped me in the god damned face, Klaire. If we're being real. So. I apologize, I do, if I left you feeling like that. But unless you think I treat Mary and Mark like shit and aren't their friends, you saw with your own two eyes how I treat my friends. And you know I'm right. So."
There's a small pause. "You ever wonder why the hospitals don't fill up after these things all that much?"
Klaire:
She doesn't get mad, or upset. Just a silent curse that she let her pride get ahead of herself again.
"Sorry...I had not meant that. I...am trying to learn and it is hard. Thank you for trying to see me as a friend at that point, and I am sorry I rejected it. I...am not one for substances. If I ever am, it would be from my partner, not from someone I just met. So I... am sorry for my offense."
There's a pause. "I...hadn't until now. Why don't they?"
Emet:
"More for me," is all he says on that topic with a shrug.
"Yeah. Well. So. It's because these protests aren't just about punching heads. You've got corkers on the fringes redirecting traffic, right? Because the cops won't. The legal observes. Got the media. Got the streamers. You've got street medics in there, which is a lot of why people don't wind up in hospitals. Unless they receive actual trauma. But you turn up after a protest with a baton round bruise, and that's probable cause. So they like to amble the halls of the hospitals after protests. Juuuust on the off chance. Feel?"
"So, yeah. Then there's people bringing water, and snacks. People bringing umbrellas and water bottles and stuff for taking out the CS gas cannisters. There's all sorts, Klaire. Believe me, my scrawny ass ain't no front line dude. You saw me at the protest, I fucking ran away." He laughs at that, and it's bright and full of self-aimed amusement.
"You got your comms folks. Watching the scanners, watching the air traffic. Watching the news. Getting info back to the protest in real time. Always asynchronous. Always diffuse. snakes have one head, so be a hydra. Right? Sooo. I mean. You can bring your tent and set it up, or you can go see what's there already and see how you can help support the people that been at this a while. Nobody wants to hurt a dog, regardless of political affiliation. You and Rook would make great corkers. And I dunno how he is with injured people, but. Yeah. First aid tent help is always wanted. But, again. You got a fucking PI, license. So if you really feel like helping these people, Klaire? Put some hours in and then don't fucking bill 'em for it."
Klaire:
She listens...and just nods. Accepting. Learning. Trying to be better.
"I...am worried about Rook. The Mark IIs have no issues hurting dogs. I'm not sure if you heard about the threat they gave him when they interviewed me about Ylva." She takes a moment, looking away to collect herself, that one was obviously a weight on her.
"I'll see what I can do to help. That's why I brought it to you...you know far more than I do. If you think being a corker is a good place for me, I'll try it. I...keep my prices low anyway. It's enough for me to complete the case through traditional means. The problem is...people ask questions if you're doing every case for free. I tell people to come to me because...if they go to the station first, they're the ones setting the fee, not me. A lot of my pay does come from when I'm contracted by the cops for cases they can't solve."
A breath. "I want to help. I really do. There...is another thing bothering me. I recognize it is...fresturation, but I would rather not bottle it up."
Emet:
"I'm not critiquing your rates. I'm saying you've got a set of skills you can put to work for these people, that's all. And that helping out by doing some PI work is gonna be more helpful than helping out doing some work at a protest. That's the nature of it. You don't have to be at the protest, either, to be part of the movement. That's not what the movement is even about. And if the movement ain't achieving shit? What is it even for? Right? So if you've got to choose between being seen helping out at a protest and being unseen helping out pulling cop files from public records? I know which one you should choose." He shrugs, spreads his arms wide, and leaves it at that.
"What's your other frustration?"
Klaire:
She pauses, and nods. "I understand what you mean. Its harder to get involved on the police side of things if I'm seen publicly on the other side of the protest line."
Klaire sighs. "I...think I misunderstood what the plan was. I thought the plan was always to reverse the entire protest...but Fox replayed the moment for me...and I recognize I was wrong and that it was only a failsafe. My frustration was...I felt like you were putting the decision on my shoulders for you to use your Magic on something we had agreed to. My frustration is...largely at myself, but in the future, if we work together, I would appreciate a run through of whatever plan we have, so I know we are on the same page."
Emet:
"Kinda rude to have other people's bullshit forced on to you, isn't it." Charlie explains slash spells out slash gestures towards in a grand sweeping gesture. "That was a little petty of me, I grant you that. But you were the one that felt some kind of way about it. To be clear if anyone had been seriously hurt? Yeah. We probably wouldn't be having this conversation. But we lucked out, Klaire. You got the intel you wanted. They got the riot they wanted. And this shit is still running the news cycle. That's a win. And I wish you could see it that way. If we stop this shit here? From going nation wide? That's a win."
Klaire:
She gives a small grimace. "Point taken. I am glad you...are willing to explain it to me. I am trying to work to become a better person...and could use some points in the right direction when I mess up. I do...hope that this doesn't spread."
A pause. "I know Bones has passed it along. I know where the 5 warehouses are, and know you are interested in that. Do you have a map?"
Emet:
He taps at his wrist rig again, much as he and Ethos had prior. A holographic map is projected into the air over the table, oriented so that she has the top down view and he's looking up from beneath the ground. It's pinch zoomable and gesture pannable, and seems to be answering to Klaire's intentions before it really ever answers to a direction from her by zooming out to a county wide topographic view.
"Not just me. Peacekeeper. The war effort. Here you go."
Klaire:
Klaire nods and stands up. "I saw it as almost an overhead map. Some sense of safety within the Mark IIs. They tend to think very...diagram like. When I asked about safety features in the warehouses, I basically got a screenshot of blueprints for a moment, so only gathered enough that they have mundane security and some level of magic that is...obviously not public."
She gestures to 5 points on the outside of the city, marking them.
"I don't have addresses, just locations. But this should help. And...I got a confirmation that they are involved with Marsbase Hermes. Its the most fresturating thing. They CANT think about Marsbase Hermes. There's just a block. You know the whole quote of 'silence speaks volumes'? I know there is a connection, but I can't figure out how because of how its set up."
She sits back down a moment later. "They also have a pretty good list of the higher ups in the Consulium, as well as local cadres. Yourself included. It was from some report of a...Creator? I know he is one of the Seers, and there are 5 other Seers of some sort of Pylon within Hermes Industries."
Emet:
"We actually have Creator on ice, here. The Children do. If you want to meet them, we can literally arrange that. Creator and their pylon, they had been operating Hermes Industries as their pet project. It's... spiraled out from its original boundaries by now. And that was always the point for the Seers. But, yeah. Mark One. Mary. Amos. The MTAIs. All of that shit, you can talk to the motherfucker behind it all. They're creepy as fuck, though. And they don't think or look human, really. So be prepared for that shit right off the bat. I will say they've been super forthcoming when approached so far, and I don't see a reason that would stop." He makes notes of the locations, pulling geolocations off his own map which he can then parse to addresses later.
"We're pretty sure all of these Mark IIs? They are Hermes. All those people, there? Yeah. They make them pilot those things. Somehow. Bones turned what y'all learned in to Cambyses and she and Peacekeeper started chewing ears, you know? So now there's gonna be some big meeting. You should be there. Bones will be. Me. Camby. And she's fun to listen to, fuck. I'd listen to her order lunch, heh. Cos I think, yeah. It's about time we take these places off-line for fucking good. You feel me?" He pokes a finger under one of the dots on the map and a cartoon little mushroom cloud curls up from it, making a mister yuk face.
"After we done, we publicize their location. Put the ratio back in liberation. Ayyyyyyy." He points fingers at Klaire who may not, sadly, get it. "But I'm sure that Peacekeeper will have better ideas. She always do."
Klaire:
"I saw their face already, it was... disturbing. I gave my notes to Bones to deliver, I got caught up with Ylva being taken off the wanted lists. If you think it will be worth it to talk to them, or to peek inside their head, I will."
A pause. "Wait so they are being forced to run the Mark IIs? That's...awful." A pause. "It does...make sense though. I tried to pry about future operations, and there was just a blank. They had no clue what the next steps were. I think...genuinely, that taking the warehouses off-line is a good step. I know its...going to be a hard thing to accomplish. All of the Mark IIs are connected by some sort of internal database. Once one is hit, they will likely highly defend or move the others. That's just a guess, but it seems highly likely."
Emet:
"Probably why they're spread around like this. You hit one, the other four respond. You hit two, the other three respond. Right up until you're hitting all five, you're just inviting the initiative to be taken from you by that counter-attack. That reinforcement to you-know-not-where, right? Hit all five and they can't do what you're talking about. Not effectively, anyway. I just don't know how we do that as diffuse as we are, you know? But. We can figure it out. Maybe call in some support from the other supernaturals. I'd pay anything to see Waffle Vampire pull the head off an APU. Holy shit, you kidding me? I should call him. Do I got his number...?"
Distracted, he shakes his head and comes back to the matter. "Anyway. It's a great guess, and damn near certain. So good thinking."
Klaire:
Klaire nods. "Speaking of...I know at least the Lost are being watched. They had a list of some that had interactions with the Mages. Ylva passed that information along to whoever her superiors are. Of the Vampires....someone really hates a vampire named Alex but I could not figure out why, but that seemed to be the extent of their knowledge."
A look at the 5 dots on the map, a slowly thinking look.
"Its like ants in a way. Eusocial behaviors. They have the common connections of the hive, or in our case their network, and have instructions how to complete that goal. How they accomplish said goal is left up to the ant, who leaves behind pheromones to give reports to any other ants that come along. They now know the details and can act better, or if it worked, keep acting and not waste resources. You ever see those lines of ants going around a rock, then you lift the rock, but they keep going around just like the rock was always there? Thats how they can adapt so well, the other Mark IIs have that information already...but if information changes, they have to readjust. Really...the only option to get rid of an anthill is either boil the whole thing...or mess with their signals and have them bring poison back to the hive. Any chance we could maybe... have them bring back false information? False sense of security... and then use that to our advantage?"
Emet:
"Maybe. Not my bag, though, that's all Peacekeeper. And for us, it'd be Ethos. He's the fighty smart guy. I just do the spitting, feel?" He waggles his brows at her and points a finger at her. "And you're starting to ask hypotheticals, which means you're past knowing you're being helpful and crossed into hoping you're being helpful. So let's cut this while we're both feeling good about where we're at. If only cos I do got work I was doing. You're welcome to chat with whoever you like, and to drop in on the meeting with Cambyses and Peacekeeper. Could be helpful to have your input."
Klaire:
A grimace and a nod. "I will stop with the hypotheticals then. I will show up to the meeting then, and will leave you to your work."
A slight pause. "I did bring some cash for the bail fund, or whatever else is needed for the aftermath of the protest. Feel free to use it as needed and wanted." She motions to the manilla folder.
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