Making His Nose Bleed

Participants:

len_icon.gif tracy_icon.gif

Scene Title Making His Nose Bleed
Synopsis Len makes an office call to Tracy's plush palace and makes himself at home. They talk Mortimer and Magnes and bloody noses.
Date June 20, 2009

The Office of Tracy Strauss


Magnes Varlane turns up, and the very next day Tracy Strass receives a call from Len. She's going to wring that little boy's neck the next time she sees him. Len may be surprised that, at Tracy Strass' office in downtown, they let him right in, although he is made to wait about 20 minutes outside her proper office with a middle-aged secretary who doesn't seem to give a hoot about his presence, but instead just goes on like he were invisible, or a fly on the wall. Finally, at around 10:25, a speaker resonates with Tracy's smooth voice from the secretary's desk. "Send him in, please."

Tracy, inside her swanky office, releases the button and sits back in her expensive rolling chair. Her office isn't that big, in fact it's rather small, but it suites it's purpose and it is made up of windows behind her, allowing the light to roll in. She's seated behind her desk, waiting. She does not look pleased.

How can that possibly be? Big Len Denton coming to visit. Who wouldn't be pleased at such a prospect. He even shows up bearing his trademark grin that's meant to disarm even the most hostile creature. And yet, she's not happy. Honeymoon must be over, sunshine. The seat opposite noted, he takes, without invitation, and stretches his long legs out and places his hands in his lap. And still, that grin. "Nice place you got here, Ms. Strauss." There. Small talk is a wonderful thing. Break that ice.

Tracy does not begin to relax as Len comes in with smiles. If he turned on the news this morning, he might know a bit more about why she's rather discontent. He sits, without her offering, so she's able to breeze through her own pleasantries. "It serves it's purpose." A button is pressed, a paper signed, and the secretary comes in for a moment to collect this new signature, vanishing the way she came and closing the door behind her. They are alone again, and the secretary has something to do so she won't be listening in. "To what do I owe the early-morning pleasure, Agent Denton?"

Len seems to be pleased that she's taken down her defenses just a little bit. "Well, considering what's going on out there.." he nods towards a window, ".. I thought it might be safer being in here with you." he chuckles. "Seriously, I hadn't heard a word from you about our mutual friend Mr. Jack and thought I'd come in for an update. See if you had anything newsworthy for me to take back to the team I have assembled and ready to go when you give the call."

Tracy takes a moment to consider. "There are some parts of this, Agent Denton, that I'm afraid you aren't aware of. Parts of the arrangement between Mr. Jack and myself. As far as what I am able to share with you? He seems to have a very capable ability to get around my security detail and I think he has some measure of sociopathic 'crush'."

"Got yerself a secret admir'r, do ya?" he grins wider. "Well, how about that? I thought perhaps that might force your hand a little. Or better security. If you need a hand with that, you let me know." Len crosses one stretched out leg over the other and glances at her, still smiling. "Seems like Jack may not be the only 'crush' you have these days, m'am."

"I like to think of it as a teacher-pupil relationship. Besides, the boy said he needed to kiss me in order to get it out of his system. If it helps him walk like he doesn't have a vice grip on his balls, more power to him." She shrugs, her hands open as she sits back - she shows no remorse for robbing the cradle like she did. "He needs to grow up, in more ways than just where women are concerned."

Len listens as she explains. "That boy is turned fourteen ways to Sunday about girls at the moment. I am certain he doesn't need to add another to his collective harem." Reports from his agents training him are filled with names of females that Magnes J. Varlane appears to have a crush on, like a lot or considers a 'bud'. "He's an adult, certainly, but I hope you see what we're trying to do here with the lad. He needs some guidance. He needs training and he needs someone making sure he doesn't step out of line. Bringing him in was a risk, but he's definiately an asset we can use if we can get him to mature up just a little bit."

Tracy levels her gaze on Len, a rather uncomfortable gaze. "You came to my office at 10 in the morning to scold me about some boy's hormone levels? If that were his only problem you'd be able to fix him with a little bit of therapy, so as near as I can tel you're trying to blame your issues with him on his libido. I do hope you're about to correct me on this."

Len considers his response before he says it. "I would have to say that his issues are almost always directly related to his physical response to the opposite gender." he nods. "Seems the boy gets around a girl and his mouth just opens. Squeals like a pig." He interlaces his fingers and lets them rest on his stomach. "That's not entirely why I'm here. What the boy does, the boy does. One of these days, it's going to come bite him on the ass, and it'll be damn painful. However, he did make a comment I thought that perhaps you and I should chat about. Get it out in the open. He commented that you thought I was going to stab you in the back at some point." He tilts his head. "Do we have a trust issue here, Ms. Strauss?"

Magnes won't need to worry about the opposite sex when Tracy gets her hands around his throat and squeezes until all the wasted time and effort of these past few weeks falls out of his eye sockets. But that's not what Tracy shows on her features - no, her amused, political smile comes back and she leans forward, almost as if she were talking, for a brief moment, to a child who didn't know any better but to ask a silly question. "Agent Denton. I work in government, if I didn't treat all of my dealings - particularly the ones with clandestine organizations - with a few grains of salt, I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have. It's nothing personal, you understand, I'm sure."

"Aye, but that's where I have to take it personally. If I put some of my agents into your hand for this mission, I would take it very personally if something happened to them because you were trying to 'get me before I get you'." Len reaches up and pushes the brim of his hat up. "I'm more than happy to assist you in whatever endeavors you need, Ms. Strauss, but I need to make sure you and I are seeing eye to eye on these things. I don't work for you, but I'm happy to help because you have something I want. If things go smoothly, I can see us doing business together time and again, without the favor hanging in the balance." A smile is there during this entire speech. "I just want to make sure my agents are going to get every consideration."

Tracy just remains seated as she is, tapping her well manicured nails on the table as her eyes look over the man in consideration. She lets him speak, looking more amused throughout it all. Amazing how often smiles are tossed around in politics, when they're almost never meant. "Agent Denton, we're on the same side here. That was my understanding. Clandestine organizations have a tendency to do what they want because they think they are above repercussions. I want to make sure I get what I want as you get what you want."

There's a long pause as Len considers the words of the assistant to the President. He finally gives a nod. "Well, if you put it that way. But, I do need to correct you on one thing. We do what we do, not because we feel we are above the law, but because we believe it's what this country needs in this time of the unexpected. One never knows where the next threat comes from, and that's why we do what we do. To try and catch those threats before they become catastrophes, or the next big tragedy. I assure you if I hadn't had an agent over in NYPD, it's possibly that situation would have been far worse than it was. The loss of life is sad, but in the end, more lives were saved because of it. So, don't think I'm letting my agents run around playing Wild West without rules. We do have rules. They are just not the same rules that everyone else plays by."

Tracy waves a hand. "Save the pamphlet disclaimer, Agent Denton. If I didn't support what your people were doing, you'd have known about it well before now." She decides not to argue specific points with him, but takes the whole thing as a whole. "I'll be in touch with DHS concerning the details of what we discussed. I still don't know any more than I did. But I do have something that I want from you."

An eyebrow arches up, showing Len's curiosity. "And what might that be?"

"I want Mortimer Jack locked in a very dark hole." Vindictive much? Honestly, she just doesn't like the man. That's all she says on that, and instead leans back in her seat. There’s no fire when she says it, no dramatics. It's almost like she just said 'I'd like a hot fudge sundae please.'

"You help me get 'im, I'll make sure he never sees the light of day." Len pushes himself to his feet and starts to leave, but he turns back. "And cut Varlane a break, will you? I'm tired of seeing his nose bleed." he winks as he steps towards the door.

"The only way I'm responsible for a nose bleed is if I punched him in the face." That's her retort, and in truth, it says a lot about her philosophy on life.


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