I'd Like to Speak to Your Manager

Participants:

kay2_icon.gif kaylee6_icon.gif

Scene Title I'd Like to Speak to Your Manager
Synopsis Representatives from Raytech and Yamagato Industries meet to discuss how they can best put their combined resources to work.
Date October 11, 2020

Eileen's Cafe


It was an odd place for a meeting. There they were… at Eileen’s Cafe. Its low lighting and rather speakeasy decor wasn’t exactly a place most people conduct business, unless it is shady… and maybe it was a little.

Seated at one of the corner-most booths, Kaylee smiles to the server that brings them their order. For Kaylee it was a simple hot mocha. The woman breathes in the scent of chocolatey coffee, watching Kaydence across the way. “I figured, if it was just going to be us, talking about a chance of a meeting… I was going to have some coffee. I didn’t exactly sleep the best. Thank you for humouring me, Ms. Damaris.”

At least, Kaylee managed to actually dress like she was meeting someone for business. Though the simple red blouse and black slacks are more business casual, she did pull hair up on the back of her head into a bun with a pair of elegant red and black chopsticks.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Pumpkin Spice Latte Season. Kay Damaris also smiles when her drink is delivered, taking a moment to inhale its aroma as the other blonde across from her does, like it’s permission granted. She is similarly dressed in red and black, though hers is a dark sheath dress under a brighter blazer.

“Happy to oblige, Ms Thatcher.” The PR Director spares the former COO the platitudes about how Yamagato values their relationship with Raytech. “Tell me how I can help you today.”

“One second,” Kaylee says quickly to Kay, turning back to the server before they can leave, “Excuse me, can I also get another coffee? Black? Please?” Their server gives a short nod and leaves them, which the former telepath waits before turning her attention fully to Kay.

Her voice is pitched low, as she turns to her, she starts to lay out why they are there. “I would like to set up a meeting with Kimiko, if possible. As you know Raytech was hit just as hard as Yamagato by the events in Canada. I and some of our employees were hit by this event.”

There is a pause as someone moves past them, Kaylee watching them with a haze of paranoia. “Getting to the site is nearly impossible, but I found a work around. With a little research I found the Canadian government - like every country I’ve dealt with - is looking for a contractor to move the plane to a secure location. Being an An-225, they don’t readily have the equipment to move a plane that massive.” Sipping her mocha, Kaylee sits back and gives the woman across from her a mischievous smile. “So I’m using my old position within Raytech - and my position as a victim if necessary - to go survey the site. While I’m there, I will be taking a hand selected team to see what we can find out while we’re there… covertly of course.”

Then that smile falters a little and Kaylee turns serious. “And at first that was all I had planned, I wasn’t even considering a serious bid, since Raytech can’t really afford to bid all that low to compete with Canadian companies.” Even she can admit that…”But then I realized we need that bid so that we could have access to the plane. That is where Yamagato comes in. Between the two companies, we can shoulder the burden in a joint effort allowing us to bid low enough that neither of our companies will see much of a loss.” Because both companies were after all in the business of making money.

“Getting access to that plane benefits Kimiko as much as it does me,” Kaylee points out, before going quiet so Kay can process what she said. “Cause I imagine she wants answers as much as Raytech does, not to mention a good time to flash the tech of both companies to see if Canada bites.” Again… money.

While Kaylee lays out her plan, Kay nods along to show she’s listening and absorbing it all. Her expression is thoughtful and attentive, even as she takes sips from her coffee. Her brows lift when the proposal is made. The joint effort provokes mild surprise, but there’s no balking or other negative expression to go with it.

“I’m well-informed of your situation, Ms Thatcher, and you’re in luck.” Kay’s smile is small, but no less genuine. “Ms Nakamura has given me full authority to act as her proxy in this matter. While I hate to disappoint you in the fact that she will not be meeting with you at this time, I hope the fact that I am giving your proposal the green light will take some of the sting out of that.”

Kay’s head inclines in a small nod. “It’s in Yamagato Industries’ best interests to ensure the wreckage of the crash is handled… appropriately. You have our full support. We will co-bid with you and ensure we secure this contract without impacting our respective businesses’ ability to continue operating in the black.”

Leaning back in her seat with an easy posture, that smile shifts into something of a lopsided smirk. “The stipulation is, of course, that once we secure our access to the wreckage, you will include Yamagato assets in your deeper investigation.” After all, there’s got to be something in it for them.

“Absolutely, Yamagato has tech we don’t have and we are looking at all the angles that tech and ability can offer.” Here her smile falters and there is a touch of guilt as she looks away. “I also need her help on a delicate matter… While Raytech is actively helping fund Dr. Tae-hwan Ko’s research,” which aligns with her own private interests, but that is left unsaid, “because of his experience in America, I am worried that he will say no to helping us look at the plane and I’m hoping she can help convince him to work with us.”

Nails click nervously against the mug, “The plan is to get him into the cockpit of the airplane,” she admits. “Him and a few others like him to see if we can piece together the final moments of the plane to get an idea of what happened that resulted in the crash. Maybe we’ll get lucky and find out who we’re up against.”

Kaylee gives a small shake of her head, and moves to scoot further into the seat, so that she can dig into the bag she brought. “Just so you know. I’m not upset that Mrs. Nakamura couldn’t make it, I get it. I’m… barely able to convince myself to walk out my own doors some days, plus she has a much larger company to run.” There is a lot of respect for the woman in those words, “But… it would be nice to get her opinion on a few things.”

From a bag next to her she extracts a large envelope that is fairly thick and slides it across the table. It has Kimiko’s full name on it. “This is everything we have so far on our own investigation, and there will be more. I’d love to hear thoughts and see if there is anything we can investigate for her.”

Reaching out again, Kaylee taps the packet, “My number and email in there if she needs it.” Pulling the mocha to her, she adds, “Let her know we’re in this together.”

Kay looks down at the envelope, then slides it the rest of the way toward her across the table. She only takes a brief moment to give a cursory examination of both sides before sliding it into her own bag with a nod. “I’ll see to it that she receives this first thing when I return to the office.”

She offers a smile then and addresses the previous ask. “As for Mr. Ko, I think that can be arranged. It aligns with Ms Nakamura’s interests, so I’m sure we can persuade him to give this a shot for us.” Kay cants her head to one side, then the other, before straightening back up again. “I’ll be sending an attachment to ensure he feels safe. Please don’t mistake this move for hostility on our part.”

"All things considered, I think a security detachment is absolutely understandable."

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Richard just walked out of the men's room and strolled along up to the table as if he'd been there the whole time - which, given his ability, he may have been. He drops down to sit in front of the black coffee, lifting it up and inhaling the scent of it with a contented sigh. "Life'd be so much easier for me if more people were nocturnal," he opines before taking a sip of the hot, dark brew, lowering it down to rest on the table's surface.

“Ms. Damaris,” he adds belatedly, flashing a smile across the table to her. Eyes, hidden by dark lenses, are unseen and thus impossible to read.

Kay lifts her brows when the late arrival announces himself, only the mildest surprise present on her face. “Mr. Ray,” she greets easily with a gentle incline of her head. “Do I need to provide you with a recap, or have you been paying attention?”

“Pretty sure he heard it all, right big brother?” Kaylee asks him knowingly. “He has another thing he wants to talk to you about and we figured it would be as good as time as any.” She at least offers Kay an apologetic smile. “But, yes a security detail will be welcome actually. I think the disappearances from under our noses have frazzled the nerves of our team a little and knowing they don’t have to spread out any thinner will be useful.”

Bob would definitely like the help.

“I’d have asked him to come along with me on this trip, but… I think it’s best that Raytech survey solo this round. If and when we have possession, then I’d feel better getting him involved.” That is said with a glance to Richard.

A hand motions from him to Kay, yielding the floor, so that Kaylee can concentrate on her cooling mocha.

“The plane is all my sister’s project, I have full confidence in her ability to negotiate and work things out there; we all have a vested interest in figuring out what in the world happened, I think,” Richard allows as he lowers the mug of coffee, one shoulder coming up in an easy shrug, “And I’m always happy to work with Yamagato on projects of equal interest.”

Hands clasp loosely around the mug, an eyebrow lifting, “Which, speaking of - have you been read in on the Looking Glass project?”

The representative from Yamagato smiles ruefully. Of course he’s been listening. Not that she particularly minds. He’s entitled to be informed in this matter, given that he’s co-owner of the company in question. “Ms Thatcher,” she turns her attention back to Kaylee, “you will have my best agent at your disposal.” Unless she opts to tag along herself. She’ll wait until after they’ve won the bid to make that choice.

Richard’s question draws a thoughtful expression from Kay that shifts into confusion and a lack of recognition. She shakes her head slowly. “No. That’s not one I’m familiar with.” She plays at unsuccessfully stifling a grin. “Clearly my spies need to do better work.”

That’s a joke.

Probably.

“Excellent, I’ll be in touch,” Kaylee says, picking up her mug. The former telepath falls quiet letting the two chat, just sipping at her mug while her gaze ping pongs the two.

“Hnm. I think I’m about to break a number of secrecy laws and non-disclosure agreements, then,” Richard observes thoughtfully, taking a sip of his coffee as he considers how best to handle this particular matter. “I promise you that even your spies would have had trouble getting information on this one.”

He motions a bit with the coffee cup, his voice pitched low but not in a way that would draw attention to it, “Suffice it to say that we’ve developed a technology that could allow us to identify objects and persons originating from— other superstrings. Unfortunately, constructing a prototype would require us to build the most sensitive scientific instrument on the planet, which we - ah - cannot entirely afford.

“I believe that Kimiko would agree that this technology is important to develop, however.”

Secrecy laws and non-disclosure agreements sees Kay’s brows hiking again. The surprise is far less mild this time, but settles back into confusion again before very long. “Superstrings,” she repeats with a shake of her head. “What does that mean, exactly? In this context.”

It’s very possible Richard’s assessment is correct, after all, but she wants to be sure she understands what she’s going to be attempting to sell her employer on.

Richard brings one hand up to rub against the side of his neck, looking a bit sheepish. “…alternate and parallel timelines,” he offers quietly, “Is probably the easiest way to explain it.”

“What?” Kay blinks three or four times before shaking her head and clarifying, “No, I– I understand the concept,” now that he’s given that explanation. “I’m just confus– You have a technology that can… What? You are telling me there are people and things that have… crossed between worlds?” It’s not hard to tell she finds that a little incredulous. “And you can detect them.” Now she’s thinking on the strange things Isabelle Khan said to her back in January.

A slight wince, and Richard lifts one hand and lowers it as if to say ‘keep it quiet’. “More than you might think,” he admits quietly, “Most of them are victims of accidental overlays or refugees from really bad timelines, but there have been a few— well, let’s just say it’s in everyone’s interest that this technology be developed. Kimiko’s fully aware of the situation.”

“I am keepin’ my voice down,” Kay responds tersely, but her voice is much quieter than it was before, so he wasn’t wrong to shush her. She darts a glance around, not seeing anyone seeming to really pay attention to them. Good. “I swear to baby Jesus, if you are pulling my leg to get me to look foolish in front of Ms Nakamura…”

But from the look he’s giving her, she can tell he’s serious. “Alright. I’ll talk to her. Let her know what you want to develop and we’ll see if she’s interested. It might still be me that you’re meetin’ with eventually, but we’ll talk about it.”

It’s been interesting listening to it all and it has taken a lot for Kaylee to stay quiet, though she does throw a worried look at Richard. “She’ll believe you,” she says finally with confidence, looking back at Kay and setting her mug down from it’s most recent sip. “If she doesn’t, she’s hiding something.” There is a small weak smile of apology when she doesn’t say more.

“The visions that followed the auroras are what our lives would have been if we hadn’t made certain choices.” She holds up two fingers, “I saw two different ones.”

A glance at her brother out of the corner of her eye, Kaylee adds, “We know a lot more, but we signed a legally binding piece of paper that we can’t really talk about the rest or the government will arrest us.” The auroras were a well known event after all, so it felt safe.

“That being said Yamagato and Raytech partnership has always netted us some rather profitable results in the past,” Kaylee states matter of factly, finding it easy to slip into old roles, “so I have the utmost confidence this partnership will benefit our companies and protect our loved ones.” Something like this would be highly sought after by governments trying to protect their people… if they believed them that is.

Even Kaylee could see how crazy it looked.

“I assure you, I’m not the sort to play pranks,” Richard replies somewhat dryly, “As much as… it does sound rather ridiculous, we live in an age of wonders. More wonders than the common man are allowed to know about.”

A glance to his sister, grimacing before he looks back to Kaydence, “If it were up to me things would be different, but we’re all forced to play on the game board that’s been set for us, I suppose. The only reason we can even work on this technology is because in order to stop us, they’d need to admit that it exists, so we’re sort of— working in a loophole here.”

Kaydence nods her head slowly when Kaylee explains her experience with the overlay phenomena. “I… I saw somethin’ like that, too. I thought I was just bein’ melancholy.” She looks down at the table, suddenly self-conscious for having slipped into something so honest. But this is a topic that’s caught her off guard. A momentary slip is something she’ll just have to forgive herself.

“I understand all about playing within the bounds the government’s set,” Kay assures, lifting her head again to fix Richard with a tight smile that says more about what she thinks of that than what she might think of him. “If this is… what you say it is — and I’m inclined to believe that it is — then I’m sure we’ll be talkin’ about this again real soon. Preferably in one of our offices.”

That working relationship of theirs is documented enough by now that they can afford to be seen coming and going from one another’s facilities, by Kay’s estimations. “So, if this venture pays off, you develop this tech, and it works… To what end?” What purpose would it serve to detect objects or people from other timelines? She imagines he’s got a specific application in mind for this.

This is where Kaylee lets Richard continue his pitch, settling in again to quietly sip at her coffee again and listen. This one wasn’t her project.

At the question, Richard smiles slightly. "Firstly, to check the survivors of the plane crash and identify if they - or their belongings - crossed over from another superstring and into ours. Secondly, to check the plane for the same thing. If nothing else, that'll give us some reassurance that everyone is who they think they are."

He offers a sympathetic look over to Kaylee, "It doesn't seem likely but we need to check everything."

A breath's drawn in, and he looks back to Kaydence, "There are other uses that Kimiko will understand without needing to be told, some things we can't— openly speak of, but she has more freedom than we do to fill you in if she's of a mind. Completely aside from that, having the most sensitive quantum-level devices in the world is absolutely certain to open up entirely new areas of technological development that other corporations won't be able to match."

Kay nods her head thoughtfully to the applications Richard is able to lay out for her. It’s a lot for her to wrap her head around, and while the topic isn’t dangerous, precisely, it isn’t necessarily one that’s safe to speak of in this setting, just as he says.

“I’m inclined to agree with your assessment,” the Yamagato rep replies without being grudging about it. “I’m sure Ms Nakamura will as well.” There’s an easing to her smile now, something more natural. “You have my direct line?” She’s sliding a business card across the table to each of them anyway. “This will allow you to skip my admin. You won’t get a direct line to Ms Nakamura, but I’ll get you there in the fewest steps possible.”

The card’s taken, and Richard slips it into his sleeve with a smile as he leans back, “I’m sure she will. I’ll give you a call soon to see how things are progressing, but…”

An easy shrug, and he glances to his sister and back, “We’ve long had a successful relationship with Yamagato. I’m sure that won’t change now, especially when it involves something so close to both my and Kimiko’s… legacy.”


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