Description: Sepultura (1997). Elle gathers her agents to lay out the next series of steps for Blackjack. With heartless efficiency, the present members listen, understand, and take their assignments with the usual professionalism that Elle's come to expect of her associates. While murder and mayhem are always part and parcel for the course, there's a little concern from an unexpected source. Nevertheless, all problems are straightened out, and Blackjack begins to move again.
Having been busy lately, Elle's got more than enough to say to the people that make up her team. It's just finding the time that's the real challenge. That alone is a mission unto itself. Most everyone's been placed on standby, either allowed to attend to their own affairs or sent to do basic maintenance tasks that just need to be done. Not every Blackjack mission is glamorous.
Well, to be perfectly fair, almost /none/ of the missions are ever glamorous. Most of them are dirty, cruel, or distatsteful, but at least most are exciting.
The mercenary leader's got an awful lot to go over in a short span of time, and the new meeting room is tailor made for this. A large LCD screen sits at the end of the conference table, hooked up to a laptop. In front of her are a series of folders, each with individual mission ojectives to be read and memorized. And of course, there's food. Always a good way to keep people in their seats and into these meetings.
Like most corporate meetings, they're not exercises in entertainment, but they /are/ short and usually not too taxing. Nevertheless, Elle's just in from one meeting with the Human Resources department for the Casino and rushing into the next in her usual black pantsuit and maroon blouse, hair a touch out of place as she rummages through the stacks at the end of the conference table, waiting for everyone to show up.
Aaaaah, another lovely evening in this festering sore of a city.
Marise is seated comfortably at the meeting table. Leaning back with her arms folded neatly upon her lap. For once, her expression seems.. content. Serene even. Plush, painted lips holding that secretive smile of hers while her eyes remain hidden behind the forest of her bangs. She is fairly confident of the direction of the meeting at least. The Seventh Circle's profits are up up up, already beginning to recoup many of the capital expenses for the mechanical gear and specialized materials the arena required. A busy little bee, she has been.
While this is hardly the totality of her ambitions, The Devil is.. for now.. appeased. Many of her own side projects are continuing along smoothly. In the not-terribly-distant past there was a tension from the creature towards her leader. A tension that has eased.
Eased enough to calmly ask of Elle as the woman strides in, "My.. Miss Elle. Time flies when one is having fun, yes?" Leaning forth to settle her eerily perfect chin upon her wrist. Content to let the meeting come to order shortly. She expects many profit arrows pointed upwards as usual, you see.
Aislinn's been keeping a pretty low profile, all told; after being beat up by Cracker Jack, she hasn't been nursing her wounds exactly, but she's been laying low. After all, she is between missions, so to speak--aside from the day-to-day tasks she has, Aislinn has been contemplating her 'next move', so to speak. She's been content, so far, being a NESTS agent, and a Blackjack associate...
But that won't last forever, will it? Inevitably, however, the call to meet comes. But it's no problem; it's not like she has anything special going on. Aislinn arrives just shortly before the stated time--five minutes early is on time, as far as she is concerned. If there's any indication that the Silent Assassin is aware of the tension between Elle and Marise, she doesn't show it consciously.
Her strides smooth, and purposeful, she nods to Marise and Elle as she walks in.
Meetings, huh? Ayame has never done good in any environment where she's supposed to sit and listen. See: miko training, home school, high school... The girl is a bit late, slipping in the door with a white rag wrapped around a ice pack pressed against her mouth, nursing a bloody lip. A bruise on her cheek and a small gash over one of her eyes all point to the logical reason for her being a bit behind: She's been up to nothing but trouble like usual.
Slipping down into the nearest chair to the door, the girl leans back and spins the seat around once with a well oiled squeak before coming around full circle and pulling the chair up against the conference table. "Jeez," she mutters from behind the icepack at her lip, "Never seen anyone put up such a fuss over..." Brown eyes sweep over the others already gathered and she buttons up, lowering the ice pack long enough to offer a beaming smile to everyone gathered and wave her empty hand quickly. "At least I didn't miss the eats."
Cookie: taken.
Well, the tension was more on Marise's part. Elle just gets irritated when people are dodgy, indecisive, or deliberately cryptic. You get sick of cryptic when you deal with megalomaniacs on a relatively frequent basis. She just likes things fast, simple, and easy. Sometimes feelings get hurt, but since Elle has all the active empathy of a charcoal briquette, she tends to not care.
As for Aislinn, Elle's never demanded anything that the NESTS agent can't do. Aislinn is harder on herself than Elle is, and Elle knows it. Whatever she decides to do with her future will be respected. After all, despite the young girl's appearance, Elle treats her exactly the same way she treats everyone else in her employ: fairly.
Ayame's arrival and her injured state gets a raised eyebrow from Elle, but she decides that now's not the time to ask. Ayame's probably the least discipline dout of the bunch, but it's a controlled chaos. Thus far, the miniature menace has paid for herself, and Elle's policy has been never to meddle in the personal affairs of her people for the most part.
Unless they start doing things that affect the team as a whole. Then it becomes her business.
She looks over the assembled. She wanted Camille here, too, but apparently she couldn't make it. No matter. The mercenary leader turns on the screen and the LCD warms up slowly as she gets down to business. "A few things first. I want to go over the earning statements for this quarter on the arena. Then I want to get down to business on a few more tactical things. Additionally, I have a new contract that's going to take a few of us a little while to complete."
"First off, the Arena. We've made good progress on it, and Marise has put together some decent fights. Both Ayame and Aislinn will see thier cut of the winnings in this week's paycheck." As promised, participants get their fair share of the purse, and she nods at Marise, "Good work, Vamp. But I want you to keep putting them together. That last fight with Aranha boosted popularity, but people need to see more. I want more fights, bigger messes, and some brand names."
She presses a button on the keyboard. "Start with this guy. Ever since Shadaloo fell down, he's been sitting, waiting for a good challenge. I want you to put this powderkeg into the arena, and see how many people he can clobber until he drops." On the screen, of course, is M.Bison, his information and stats running alongside the picture. "I hear he's in Vegas. I have his info. I want you to contact him personally and invite him, got it, Vamp?"
As the Jinzoningen strides into the room in her usual, functional pace, the Devil turns her hidden gaze to her approach. The corner of her lip twists upwards in a smile. Sometimes she can't help but marvel at her craftsmanship. What other wonders has her organization of tinkerers and engineers crafted? What a perfect little puppet.
The Devil's attention then turns to Ayame as the girl seats herself, as injured as her Silent mentor. The ghost clicks her tongue as she considers all that wonderful violence wasted somewhere without anyone to bet on it. With a calm touch of her fingertips, the wicked maiden slides a plate of cookies from her area to Ayame as she bids, "Gorge yourself, child."
Not out of anything resembling goodness in her heart, simply that the stringy girl could use a couple extra pounds and a little more of a figure. It plays better to a primarily American audience, you see, compared to the Japanese sensibilities.
With her fellow Blackjack members accounted for, the Devil then smoothly regards Elle once more as she laces her sharp-nailed fingers together while recrossing a leg beneath the table.
As the Rock Tyrant lays out the facts, Marise inclines her head wordlessly. All as expected. The further request for bigger fights should likewise be no problem. When it comes to fighting circuits, success breeds success. Many serious contenders are practically begging her people on the street to be let in or be considered. And as Elle offers the image of a fighter, the Devil's head tilts and the creature makes a soft murmur of approval, "Yesss..He would do most well.. kn hnn.."
The ghoulish creature then inclines her head to Elle, "Yes, Miss Elle."
A slam dunk.
Marise's appraising gaze bothers Aislinn, as do all such appraisals. Simply put, it makes her feel like so much meat, and that isn't how she likes to think of herself, even if it is, strictly, true. She's a human being, with a soul, and all that entails. So yeah, she's bothered by Marise's gaze. She's just disciplined enough not to show the internal shudder; she meets Marise's gaze impassively, before turning to listen to Elle.
Ayame's had a larger part in the Circle, but that's all fine with Aislinn--prizefighting is a fun diversion, and something more than that for Blackjack, but it hardly occupies much of Aislinn's time. "He seems appropriately vicious for the Circle." A pause, and a thought, followed by a question.
"I know there were noises about recruiting Sergio for Blackjack. Has this been considered? Or did we invite him and he declined?" Aislinn knows what she thinks about Sergio--outlandish, pompous, and bearing an overinflated perception of his own greatness--but a potentially valuable member, nonetheless.
With Marise sliding a plate her way, Ayame has a better pick of the snacks, which seems to be all that occupies her attention as Elle begins to speak, oblivious to the woman's true motives. But it's clear that for all her apparent inattention, she's really listening, for the moment Elle talks about getting a cut of some of the arena's income this week, the girl's ear perks and she sits up a little bit straighter. Well, well, that's not a bad deal at all!
She quietly huffs a little as Elle mentions Aranha. Got the better of her in their group based rematch. At least he was scared good for a while. She's not finished with that one...
And then comes the picture of Bison that Elle wants to have a shot in the Circle and Ayame's eyes widen as she takes in his stats at a glance. Mouth opening the second she finishes swallowing her current bite of cookie, the girl hurries to make one point clear, just in case. "A-ah, I'm not fighting that guy by myself!" She has a tendency to target people way outside of her league on the streets, but there's plenty of room to run then. Being down in the arena with Mister Punch seems to put some fear of death in the normally wreckless girl.
Aislinn mentions Sergio and Ayame's brow furrows. That guy is such a headache. And stupid strong too!! Wait. That probably makes him qualified for a job, she's forced to admit to herself.
Elle's mind assesses what people have to say, and she addresses them in the order in which they are received. Marise's statement is met with a nod. "Good. Make it happen by the end of this week. I want him signed up for at least one match. I think I have a good idea as to who I want to put against him." At least, she'll have a better idea once she can get an audience with Rugal and see what's shaking down 'R' way. Either way, Elle will have a decent opponent for Bison one way or another. "Don't worry," she addresses Ayame, "He's not for you to fight, at least, not by yourself. People want to see a fight, not a murder."
"Funny you should mention Sergio," Elle says after Aislinn says her peice on the older fighter. "I have him on a three job contract, and I set him out to get some work done and he flat out disappeared on me. I haven't seen him or heard from him since issuing the mission." Her eyes flick towards Ayame, and she nods her head. "Kid Vicious, I want you to go out and find out where that idiot is hiding, and I want you see what he's come up with. If he hasn't come up with anything, I want you to help him out on the first one. Odds are, that slug-footed cement head has no idea what he's doing."
Expounding on the subject, Elle states further, "Sergio's got too much of a big mouth and a bigger ego than everyone here put together, including Vamp. He won't make a good member unless he learns to put it in a box when he's around me, or it gets beat out of him. Either way, I'm in no hurry. We'll see what develops."
The mercenary shifts gears a little as she presses a button again. "But while we're on the subject of dangerous, I think I need to give a heads up on Shadaloo and the recent activity around them. Ayame keeps running into their members, Aislinn had a run in, and let's not forget the fiasco with that Russian girl we found pickled in Vega's basement."
She reaches down and slides a folder out to each of the attendees. "Here's the collected info we have on Shadaloo now. Looks like C.Jack is operating on some kind of agenda someone set out for him, or he's just confused and lost and punching everything he thinks wronged the organization. Birdie looks like he's joined up with the Syndicate. Sagat and Balrog are MIA, and we all know where Bison is. I want people to be careful out there, so I took the liberty of compiling this. Study this, and the new codebook I sent you all. No doubt our ex-compatriots still recall all the old codes."
Of course, that does leave an untouched matter. "I want a volunteer to track down the Russian girl. With all this recent Shadaloo activity, I have a bad feeling about having sent her out to Rugal. I'll do my own footwork and try to track down Rugal himself, but I want someone to do some legwork, see if that girl's done anything that we don't know about."
The Devil's attention briefly touches Aislinn once more as she brings up the Sergio question. Of that matter, The Devil has little to say. Not complicating the subject with her own opinion. Elle's judgement in regards to lesser members has had mixed results in the past.. But then, finding talent in this day and age is a chore the creature acknowledges to be extremely difficult. If she deems him fit, so be it. He will perform or he will meet an appropriate fate for his lack of utility.
As Ayame voices her concern about being sent against this behemoth, the Devil titters quietly, "Concern yourself not over such matters, my pretty little thing." After all, the ghoul needs to tally the various betting spreads and see how much money giving Ayame a partner or not could be worth. Besides.. Having such a monstrous fellow opens up whole worlds of possibility. The sad fact is, in the upper echelons of warriors it is often difficult to find worthy match ups that really brings out the insatiable gambler. This fellow will make a perfect match up for certain individuals the creature has in mind..
But that is neither here nor there. Rather than continue to distract Elle from her point, the Devil regards her once again directly to see what the next item on the agenda happens to be.
Aaand.. It would be Shadaloo.
Or whatever is left of Shadaloo. The Devil's expression hardly changes, stopping the sliding folder with a single fingertip as her attention doesn't leave Elle for a moment. This isn't particularly her realm of interest, but it is good to keep an eye on potentially problematic issues. Or useful resources. Flipping through the dossier of ex-Shadaloo agents some are familiar. Some not.
The incident of this 'Russian Girl' is curious. The Devil wasn't there for that particular event, she'll take a moment to briskly glance through a summary page to refresh her memory on those events. Naturally, she isn't the one whom volunteers.
It's probably pretty sure that Elle doesn't want to see Ayame with a hole punched through her chest--literally. Aislinn shakes her head. Elle and Marise have assured her protege that she won't be used as a speedbump for Bison, so that's good enough for her. Elle may be deceitful and conniving but she knows the value of honesty within her organization. So--Ayame has her assignment, to track down Sergio and get his ass in gear. Marise has hers, to set up and maintain the Circle with ever-more-vicious matches. Which leaves the last assignment to Aislinn.
"I'll track her down," replies Aislinn. The girl they found in the Shadaloo base... there's something about her. "She was sent to 'R', you say?" She muses, briefly. "Do we have a point of contact with 'R' that is accessible to me?" Already she's 'on the case', thinking it through. "There have been no reports of any unusual sightings so she must be hidden away somewhere..."
Elle and Marise's assertions seem to calm Ayame back down who sinks a little into her seat before leaning forward to attack the snack plate again. The woman speaks of Sergio disappearing and Ayame nods her head slowly at her related task to find and back him up some on his objective. She isn't too surprised, he seemed the sort prone to wandering... then again, so does she, and she's here now. "I'll find him," the girl states, her grin suggesting she has no doubt on that. What happens after that depends on how determined he is to stick to task, of course.
The topic shifts to Shadaloo and Ayame is quiet. Some of what Elle has to report is from first hand experience from the girl, having found Birdie in Geese's employ and, like Aislinn, had a run in with C.Jack himself. Her free hand reaches forward to flip through the folder idly, memorizing details, whether she wants to or not, with a glance over the pages.
"Oh yeah, her," Ayame remarks dryly as the matter of Elfa comes up. There's something all together /not right/ about that one. Time in one of Vega's tanks can do that, she supposes, not really knowing much at all about such matters. "So you don't think she's with 'em anymore?" 'R', of course. If she's on the loose, that does make her findable. Ayame doesn't volunteer either. Not because she would particularly object to the task, but because it just isn't in her nature. But her supervisor has it well in hand it would seem, and Ayame is content to continue attacking the snacks.
"I don't know if that girl is with R or not anymore. Call it a hunch. It may just all be a wild goose chase," Elle admits with a shrug. But the fact of the matter is, the faction that's essentially leaderless has been moving the most lately. Either Shadaloo's extremeties have just realized that the head has died, or the beast is still alive, and just slowly working it's way out of unconsciousness. Either way, Elle has a sneaking suspicion that Elfa will bring light to the crux of the matter, and that's when Aislinn volunteers.
Elle recalls Aislinn's hesitance in Elfa's retreival, but also recalls the fact that Aislinn promised to stay professional about these things. The mercenary gives the NESTS soldier a look that lasts all of two seconds. That look is a simple, easily conveyed message: Don't mess it up. "You might try starting with Adelheid," Elle says, considering her question a moment. "I'll make sure you can get an audience with him after I'm done talkign to Rugal. After that, you're almost on your own. I'll have the streets scoured for any loose bits, but the rest is up to you. It's a snipe hunt at best, but if you can get the info, I'd appreciate it. Usual hazard bonuses apply," she adds, just as a formality.
"Like the Kid here says: something's off kilter with her. There's seems to be some kind of mental programming in her. If you find her and she starts babbling about being touched and her father, you need to beat feet and get the hell out of there. I'm not replacing a good operative this week, capisch? You're more important to Blackjack that getting the dirt on her. In fact, try to bring Camille as backup if at all possible."
The mercenary again taps at the keyboard, already concerned with something else. Her people are gifted in ways that most people don't recognize, and Elle understands that trust is a big part of this game. It's a hit or a miss sometimes, hiring responsible people. Which is why she's saved the big one for last. "Finally, I want you guys to pay very, very close attention to this one. I got ahold of Heinlein, and set up a contract. Kain's got some holdings in Indonesia, and I'm going to need everyone's talents to pull this one off," she explains as the screen shifts to a series of islands in the South Pacific. "I've promised him I can turn the governments around in three of the island chains in a fiscal year. It involves assassination, ethnic cleansing, and the establishment of a more direct communications system."
A picture of three individuals show up on the screen. "These three people with the names I can't pronounce without developing epilepsy are the main targets. Aislinn, I want them dead, in no particular order." The screen flips to a map, higlighting several islands in red. "Marise. There are terrorists on these islands. I want you to see about using your unique specialties to make them scatter or die en masse." Then her attention turns to Ayame. "You and I will be working on the island to destroy the communications network and build the infrastructure from the ground up." A pause. it's a lot to hit someone with in one pass, but she gives a caveat. "We've got plenty of time to do this, though. I want you to finish your primary tasks, first. When you've done them, I want you to come to me with more specific assignment details. If you have any questions, though, go ahead and ask now."
Of the assignments offered to the others? Oh, The Devil is listening. Always listening. Simply, not seeing fit to make comment. Their questions are often as enlightening as the details of their orders. However, by and large, the Devil is focusing the bulk of her attention on committing names and faces to memory as she slowly shuffles the various pages of profiles and printouts within her folder copy while waiting for Elle to give more detailed instructions to the other Blackjack members.
Patience is simply an exercise in being efficient.
Aaaah. As Elle brings up the next matter, the Devil's lips slowly spread into a vicious, predatory grin. Teeth entirely far too sharp to be human.
Oh, Marise loved her time in Thailand, you see. And this assignment is very much what she was hoping to see again some day. "As you desire. Miss Elle."
Although, just because the Devil is handed a plum mission that she is sure to enjoy doesn't necessarily mean she'll do the work blindly.
Why in the world does Herr Heinlein desire this nation to be 'turned around'? A question that need not be voiced for the moment. Questioning Elle's authority infront of the troops is not something the Devil does. It is, after all, poor decorum. A more rigorous inquisition will await later. For now?
Mmmmn.. That dusky island trash.. What beautiful screams they make..
"Adelheid. Right." Oh, Aislinn remembers -him-. The Son of Bernstein, along with Vice the Freakiest Secretary of All, threw her off the Suiryuu and, in her estimation, out of Jinchuu. She remembers him for sure. But... professionalism. Bygones be bygones. "Very well, I'll start with him when I have the chance." It may not go very well, Ais not being the most tactful or diplomatic of people.
But then she's given another assignment, one that's more particular to her skillset. Assassination. A bold, large word. In truth, though she's been called the Silent Assassin before, she's only killed in controlled lab situations or in chaotic battle... never cold blood. So this is a test for her, in a way. A test she'll pass. Wordlessly, she studies the information given.
"Very well," she repeats.
Out of the trio gathered, Ayame's task sounds far less gruesome. Whether she's relieved or disappointed would be impossible to read as her expression hasn't shifted from the patient curiosity she's given pretty much all of Elle's presentation. Slaughter, assassination, and restructering lines of communication. All far bigger picture plans than she normally thinks in, the girl wandering her way through life following whim of the moment impulses for the most part. But point her in the right direction and Elle's bound to get results.
"Sounds like a busy year ahead," she remarks, lowering the ice pack to the table and resting her hands behind her head, leaning back in the chair a little. Means business is good and as long as she keeps her head attached to her shoulders, she should have a job for a while yet. Good enough for her.
Elle's always busy. Sometimes it just takes a while to get the ball rolling. "No kidding. That's not even counting the additional work I keep picking up, and the company's own projects. Which reminds me," Elle says, as she starts to shut down. "Aislinn. Go tell your bosses at NESTS that we picked up another set of Psi data, but this one's coming at a premium. Kid Vicious and I tagged and bagged Vega's personal Jesus last night."
She galcnes at Marise, and motions to Ayame, "I want you two to go take care of the little homo. Marise, I want you to pull him apart, see what makes him tick. The kid claims to be two people in one body. Souls or something. Just get the data first, and then play hob with whatever's leftover, alright? I want as much detail as you can get. The kid's on some insane order of mental power for his sickly little body, and I want as much blood from that stone as you can muster."
"As for you," she says to Ayame, "Just make sure he doesn't run. If he so much as twitches, rip out his lungs. When you're done with him, you and Marise dump the body. I want the buddy system on that kid," she says flatly. "Take /no/ chances under any circumstances, got it? If Tran was around, I'd have him in there taking all the medical information, too, but I don't. I want you to make 'Alien Autopsy' look like something two kids made in their garage. Capisch?"
Now this is certainly unusual.
As Elle describes yet another task for the Devil to accomplish, the creature's hidden expression shifts just a fraction out of curiosity. Considering how rare it is for Elle to be particularly impressed or otherwise concerned about the oddities of others, the fact that she comments at length about this newly procured specimen speaks worlds.
As the word 'Psi' is raised, again Marise's expression offers a subtle shift, but gives no opinion of the matter. The fate of the little one is written clearly for her, and it is all she needs to know on that.
Only then does the other-worldly woman give Ayame attention. Yes.. Marise will have many questions. Ayame assigned to facilitate matters is most fortuitous, as it so happens.
"Of course, Miss Elle." The Devil quietly in tones. Touching a clawed finger to her upper lip in consideration. Yes.. Fortuitous indeed.
We'll certainly get to the heart of this matter. Oh yes.
Well, Ayame was pretty curious about Jesen. And Marise seems the most likely to be able to make any sense of whatever mumbo jumbo he's constantly saying. And now she's going to be on hand for it, from the sound of things. All in all, that's one more thing that seems to be going just the way the callus girl would like it to. "He won't be going anywhere." the girl states confidently, leaning back to sink down a little further into her chair.
Elle's insistence upon getting as much information as possible out of everyone that crosses her path never ceases to surprise the young runaway. It rivals her own interest in any piece of technology she can get her own hands on. Pick apart the pieces, get to the heart of the matter. The strawberry-blonde eyes Marise silently, her expression unreadable. Maybe she has the good sense to fear the Devil. Or maybe she finds the strange one just another odd human with her own buttons to push. The unbloodied corner of her lip curls up just slightly. This will be interesting indeed, she muses.
So they 'took' Jesen, hmm? Well, Ais doesn't know much about him. He was a blip on the radar screen and then gone. Gone for good, it seems, if that's what Elle's plan is. But the Silent Assassin doesn't let her emotions show. Okay, even if 'that could be me'... the very fact that it -isn't- her being picked apart and dissected is good enoguh for her. And she has other things to worry about now, such as finding Elfa and assassinating a trio of Indonesian officials.
Is Blackjack going places she isn't comfortable with? Sure. Is it her concern? Technically, no--it's Ayame and Marise's concern. And as she doesn't have to deal with what the Devil of Koga will be doing... well, she's sure Ayame can handle herself. So could Aislinn, for that matter, but she won't have to, and taht's that.
"Is there further business involving me?" she asks, softly. Not getting up, but wondering if there's more for her--not that she doesn't have enough on her plate as it is.
Elle rarely explains anything to anyone that doesn't need explaination. And in this particular case, Jesen's impending dissection has as much to do with the fact that the boy incessantly harasses Elle's interests as much as Elle's demand to know more about psionic power. She can't control the stuff, and nything she doesn't control or understand has to be gotten ahold of and pulled apart until she can grasp the concept. This is why Marise is doing the job, and not Aislinn.
The NESTS soldier doesn't need to know any of that. All she needs to know that that Elle is rarely, if ever, needlessly cruel. Sometimes she's necessarily cruel, however. Sometimes, cruelty is the only language some people understand. As Aislinn asks the question as Elle packs up, shooing people out of 'office' so to speak, she raises an eyebrow.
"Something on your mind, Vicki?" Elle asks in return, closing the laptop. "Normally you're: Yes Elle. No Elle. I'll get right on it, Elle. Then you're out the door at the quartermaster picking up gear before i can even get you your transportation information."
And this is why Marise works for Elle.
For there is much in common between them, and that notion should frighten every living soul who has ever heard of either of them. What the Devil cannot control must either be tamed or destroyed. But vulnerabilities and gaps in her comprehension of the universe are not things Marise freely divulges.
Of course, on the subject of cruelty.. Heh. Marise would have pulled that boy inside out simply because it sounds fun. Unluckily for this youth, the Devil has some very specific purposes in mind.
'Unfortunate' because specific tends to be synonymous with slower.
However. Curiously enough, the little Jinzoningen seems to be unusually brisk. Her attention deviates from her own concerns as her attention trails to the rising wooden girl. Yess.. An answer the Devil would be most interested in hearing.
After all, things are going so beautifully here. What is there to worry about? Hrmm?
A shake of her head. "No," she replies, firmly. She pauses, then decides for honesty. After all, Elle has been honest and forthright with her; certainly her employer deserves--has *earned*--the same. So she offers the faintest of smiles.
"Glad I'm not in that boy's place." And so it should be, should it not? After all, who would want to be where Jesen is going to be? Certainly her unique background adds more poignancy to the fact, but she would certainly challenge that anyone wouldn't feel the same way.
"If our business is concluded," she says, that faint smile leaving her lips, "Then I do have phone calls to make. If you could forward me contact information for Adelheid as well...."
The mercenary nods. "Just so you know, I gave him a chance. I talked to him like a normal human being, but he spouted a bunch of nonsense," Elle explains. "I beat on him and wrote him off. Then he got it in his mind to start harassing the Kid for no reason. She had to knock him stupid two, three times before she finally came to me to explain the situation."
Elle looks at Aislinn pointedly. "The little bastard isn't human. He doesn't have a rational thought to his name. Between his mental ravings and his assertions that he's got two souls inside of him, he's about as useful as a condom stapled to a birth control pamphlet." Elle's hands collect the leftover papers on her desk as she moves to do some filing at the cabinets in the conference room.
"Let me put it another way. That kid, he may have been born to a mother and a father, and maybe he's got one extra soul inside of him, and maybe all his flower bullcrap makes him seem like a deep, insightful genius, right? That doesn't make him a human being." A folder is selected, and paper is slipped away. "There are people I know that have been grown in vats who use as little words as possible and might not even /have/ an immortal soul and are probably abominations unto whatever God you might want to pick out of a hat that are more 'human' to me than Vega's tykebomb."
She pauses in her work if only for a second. "Being human is what you do with your life. It's the choices you make, or the choices you don't. The second all the choices you make are because you've devoted your life blindly to someone else? You stop being a person. After that, you're just a /thing/. And that's all that the little sack of misery is to me. A thing. You, on the other hand, make choices."
"And that, Aislinn, is what makes all the difference in the world. Never forget that."
There's a sense of Aislinn holding up her hands as if to go 'whoa'--though she doesn't actually make that motion. "I'm surprised you gave him a chance. Doesn't seem like your style and if he is as dangerous as you say, it might have been best not to." However--Ayame earns a pointed gaze, briefly. She didn't mention a thing about Jesen to Aislinn.
"Appreciated," she says, as she digests the rest of the commentary from Elle. And then she -does- rise, back to business. "Very well. I believe I can get into contact with my superiors in NESTS soon... though it is a bureaucracy at heart. It may be a while before anything filters through. After that, I will begin searching for that girl--Elfa, yes?"
Turning on her heel, she walks for the doorway, not hurried, but again, purposeful. Purpose in life--it's a great thing to have.
Log created on 22:57:24 01/08/2008 by Elle, and last modified on 02:32:59 01/09/2008.