002. and his shoes were pointy-toed. // open post.

[iamvice]

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Waking the Dead 2.0 : 1 May 2063 | "wake up / the dream is over"

[larue]

[ He wanders into the Great Hall a little before midnight, still dressed in his Rhiannon uniform. He has an earbud plugged in, his Vice phone hooked into the streaming telecast following the audit on Taskforce Valkyrie.

He should be hungry, but the things he's been hearing all day -- the interviews, the polls conducted by the various networks -- have put him off food.

Growing up, he had heard his father comment once or twice on the decisions of government in his own quiet and critical way. Aaron Brennan was a man of principle and had brough up his kids as best as he could, telling them that America had been a dream of life and liberty, but that unfortunately, the only thing standing in the way of everyone getting a chance at all of that was that some people were always vocal about their own patch of freedom, but so damn exclusive about everybody else that wasn't them.

He grabs a cup of coffee and sits himself down at the table he's come to think of as theirs, clearly distracted as he's focused on an exchange between the anchors.

His nose wrinkles in disgust at a comment and he tugs his earbud off, leaning back into his seat and focusing on slowing his breathing. ]

[iamvice]

[Interestingly enough, Josh isn't the only one following American current events. That Jessiah Vice is doing it too, though, shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

He's currently the only one at the Malice Kings table, but definitely not the only person in the Great Hall (Falner Manor always has a lot of people in it, regardless of the hour). He's sitting back with a cup of coffee and a cigarette merrily burning away on the ashtray that sits within reach, gaze fixed on the screen of his laptop. When he spots someone familiar in the distance, though, he looks up --

-- and pauses mid-sniff.

Have a very audible snerk, Joshua LaRue, and one Jessiah Vice smirking at you from just over the rim of his coffee cup.]

[larue]

[ You know that strange feeling of being watched? The one where the back of your neck just starts to warm because it's like your body just registers that you've got someone's attention?

Yeah, that.

Josh looks over his shoulder, double-takes, and ducks his head a little because oh, whoops

Have a hand lifted in awkward greeting, Mr. Vice. ] Evening, sir.

[iamvice]

[That smirk has not disappeared. Not at all.]

Looking good, Christian Grey.

[50 Shades of What A Dork.]

[larue]

[ Christian-- what?? Is that a brand or a--

--awkward smile. ] Working late, sir?

[iamvice]

Just hanging around.

[Which is pretty much a yes, because. Well. Monitoring. Checking on leads. Waiting in the wings.

Say what you want about Jessiah Vice, but he is always, always on top of things.]

So. Rhiannon.

[Gabriel Marlowe's work, no doubt. He's heard the stories.]

[larue]

[ Setting the tablet away now and turning around in his chair to talk to Mr. Vice. ]

Started on the 25th, sir.

[ And has been going at it since. Interesting place, the corporate world. ]

[iamvice]

How do you find it so far?

[Oddly enough, Jessie appears to be gathering his things.]

[larue]

[ Huh, guess he's turning in for the night then. ]

Liking it a lot, actually.

[ He hadn't been sure he would -- he knew football and sports, not the boardroom and stock figures. But he's doing quite well and it helps that Gabriel is an excellent teacher. ] You heading off, sir?

[iamvice]

[Nope. He's moving over to you.]

Really? I thought you were a jock.

[larue]

[ He can hear the a memory of one of his boys going Athlete. What? Is it mutually exclusive? Good in sports and dumb in everything else? ] Not as booksmart as my sister, sir, but I can hold my own.

There's a lot of thinking required when you're strategizing how best to maneuver that many people.

[ Your own, the opposing team. ]

[iamvice]

[Eyebrows lifting at that statement. Interesting, interesting... he's smarter than he lets on.

Now setting up at Josh's table, right across of him.]

Who are you working with?

[larue]

[ Blinking a little because... uh... ]

Just Gabriel right now. Sir.

[iamvice]

Really? So he finally took somebody under his wing, huh?

[Kicking back in his seat, and going for his cigarettes with a crooked smile.]

That works out nicely for Bart, I would think. High time Marlowe trained somebody to be as good as he is.

['Bart' for the CEO, as if they were old friends. They kind of were.]

[larue]

[ Catching that.

Both, of that.

And interested now, after he recovers from a momentary stall. ]

Mr. Vice, when you say 'finally'... [ Josh isn't one to presume. And he's done the math. He'd read that Gabriel Marlowe had been ten in 2012. Except now, he looked twenty-five. Just twenty-five. For a really long time. ]

[iamvice]

He's kind of frozen in time now that he's reached the last peak of his human power. Throne: go figure.

[Lighting up.]

And no, he hasn't taken anybody in since he rose to the upper echelons of Rhiannon. Both Ayame and Bart were a little concerned about that, but... [Heh.] Marlowe's a bit of a control freak. I don't think he believed that anyone could do his job the way he can.

[Sending Josh an almost approving look.]

I guess he does now.

[larue]

[ When Jessiah Vice gives you a compliment, you take it.

Humbly. ] I hope to try, sir.

[ Slipping out his pack now, lighting up. ] Long, long way to go for me.

[ Very. And he's good with that. ]

[iamvice]

Eh, well. No time like the present, yadda yadda yadda inspirational bullshit yadda.

[Flippant as ever.]

Shame, though. You being with Rhiannon means that you probably won't end up swinging my way.

[larue]

[ Expelling a breath and just watching Jessie. Relaxing too -- just a little.

And then blinking.

Because what. ]

[iamvice]

Rhiannon and Vice have a gentleman's agreement. We make a FEW exceptions, but Ayame doesn't like old mentors like myself getting up in her business anymore than necessary.

[Sigh, that girl. She has grown so much.]

[larue]

[ A pause. ]

You were her mentor, sir?

[ He remembers Ayame Rhiannon well enough: efficient, professional; a woman at the top of her game.

Mentored. By Jessiah Vice.

Makes sense. ]

Vice Enterprises is a Card and Sin-Eater run corporation as well? [ An honest, clarifying question. ]

[iamvice]

I was.

[Said with pride, not with the usual Dick Arrogance.]

And we're not EXCLUSIVELY run by Cards and Sin-Eaters, but we do have a good number of both. That's just how things played out.

[larue]

[ Leaning on the table, hands folded together. ]

I haven't had the opportunity to speak with her again, but that engagement you sent us to the last time, [ the one where they'd ended up 'acquiring' a new blademate in the process, ] she was pretty impressive, sir.

[iamvice]

Just "pretty impressive"?

[Lifting an eyebrow. Really?]

[larue]

Yes, sir. [ Trying not to grin, because he would have never taken Mr. Jessiah Vice as the mentoring type.

At least. Yeah. No. ] Very, very impressive.