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Scene Title | Of Footlongs and Terrorists |
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Synopsis | Over some subs, Agents Mahoney and Hollingwood discuss their current assignment and PARIAH |
Date | November 18, 2008 |
Coming Soon!
The phone has been ringing off the hook all morning, keeping Guy busy and stuck in his office ever since he walked through the door. He hasn’t even had a chance to have a cappuccino, which always makes him cranky. “I don’t care if you have to beat the little old lady who runs the corner shop, just get me the address!” He would slam the phone if he could, but since it’s a cell he just mashes the end button angrily before slumping down into his chair.
With a sigh, Agent Mahoney rubs his temples with a gentle, circular motion to ease the headache he feels coming on. He needs a break, badly. There are a pile of folders on his desk that need sorting, sure, but that could wait until after he eats something. So, he picks up his phone again and starts to dial the Chinese place down the street.
Before he can do that, a foot-long submarine sandwich is dropped in front of him, fixed up just the way he likes it. "Sounds like you're having one of those days," Rami stands by his desk with a bottle of iced tea in one hand and a bag with his own sandwich in the other. "Any luck getting us a location?" He pulls out the chair and sits down, then begins to meticulously unwrap his own sandwich. He frowns at its messy state and sets about putting the filling back where it belongs.
”Hello? Hello?” says the woman on the other end of the line in a truly authentic accent. Guy ignores her and hangs up now that food has mad itself present. “Are you sure you’re not a mind reader?” he asks Rami while unfolding the sub’s wrapping. It really is just the way he likes it, which doesn’t surprise him considering Rami’s eternal quest for perfection. “No luck. Not today. I think I might get out there after I’m done with this. I need some fresh air.”
Sub sandwiches are almost too disorganized for Rami to try to eat, but he also has a great distaste for greasy food. That leaves very few convenience choices, so he must endure the chaos of a sandwich slapped together by an apathetic 17 year old. He finishes sliding the last pickle back into place and then takes a bite so careful that none of the sauce or toppings are dislodged. "Oh, would that I were. It would make this job considerably easier. Call it an instinct and an ability to recognize certain patterns in your behavior." He grins in a slightly smug, but good-naturted way. "So, your plan is to go and yell at your contacts in person? Haven't I ever lectured you on methods of gentle information extraction?"
”I’m not in a gentle mood right now,” Guy tells Rami as he picks up his sub, which is still half-wrapped in paper to keep at least most of it together. He takes a bite, chews it, and swallows. “Where have you been all day? Bishop has on my ass to wrap up this case by the end of the week. Any leads?” he asks, curious to see what Rami might have to add before he heads out for the rest of the day.
"I have been out finessing. Developing a contact. One who make prove quite useful in the very near future. But I have nothing to report at the moment." Rami takes another bite and chews deliberately. "I expect a call this evening. If not, I will move on to more…coersive tactics tomorrow." There's something sharp and pointy about the way he says 'coersive.'
Guy chuckles and pulls a bit of onion that is hanging haphazardly out of his sandwich. It gets popped into his mouth and devoured. “I’ll have to remember to come along. Seeing you in action is always so,” he pauses here a moment to search for the right word, “poetic, I suppose.” He takes another big bite of his sub, hungrily munching on its innards.
"That's the kindest term anyone has ever used to describe what I do," Rami's tone is wry and amused. "This is why you receive unexpected sandwiches, my friend." He wipes a tiny bit of mayo out of the corner of his mouth.
”I try,” Guy replies with a grin. After a moment more of chomping down on his sub he starts to feel full enough to slow down and just enjoy it. “I had a wet dream again last night. Melted in my sleep. It was a bitch to clean up.”
"Plastic covers. I keep telling you." Rami makes a little 'tch' sound. "You should really stop wetting the bed. You're getting too old for that." Of course, the joke is an old one. But that's the point. "That is a prime example why I don't pine for superpowers. Given my luck it would be the ability to turn hot dogs into chicken fingers or somesuch."
Guy’s eyes roll around in their sockets and he chuckles once again. “In defense of the poor bastard who actually *does* have those powers, chicken fingers are ten times better than hot dogs.” Neither are as good as the Italian sub in his hands, though. He works on finishing the first half. The second will be saved for later on in the afternoon.
"Sometimes I feel reluctant to tag people whom nature has gifted with a poor or even detrimental power. The people have suffered enough." Rami continues to eat his own sandwich at a notably slower pace than Guy. Then he looks distant for a moment, as he is apt to do. When he draws himself back, there's a more serious look on his face. "I do hate it when this PARIAH business is all over the news. It makes it harder to be discrete. And you know how I love discretion."
Guy pushes some papers to the side to clear off a space for his sandwich, which he places gently on the desk in front of him. “Of course I do. I don’t exactly like to be noticed, either. I’m hoping we can wrap up our current assignment and push for a move against PARIAH. What do you think?” He looks hopefully over at his partner with a brow raised slightly higher than the other.
"Oh I have no doubt at all that movements are being plotted. It's just a matter of when we're brought in to the know. This organization has never waited for escalation to do their work. It could simply be that any movement so far was either unsuccessful or successful in a subtle way." Rami carefully wipes off his hands before sipping from his iced tea. "Given our collective experience, I would expect at least consultation quite soon."
”I don’t doubt that the wheels are already turning. I just think we need to be more forward about our involvement. Let’s tag and bag this bastard soon,” Guy jams a finger onto one of the files on his desk, “Then I say we have a chat with Dalton or Bishop about where we go from there.” He’s betting on not being immediately sent away by them because of that collective experience Rami mentioned.
Rami motions with his hand in a shrug-like gesture. "If you wish for us to be that proactive, then we will be. Otherwise I'm fairly certain we'll have our fill of PARIAH-related work soon." He wraps up the second half of his sandwich as well, with almost Origami-like folds.
Guy is quiet for a moment, but eventually a light smile dances across his face and he nods. “I can be patient. The Company does know what they’re doing after all,” he says quite genuinely. “Still, their attacks been more frequent lately.” He shrugs and lets the topic rest at that for now.
"Oh come now. I didn't mean to dampen your enthusiasm." Rami smiles one of those funny smiles of his. He means it to be jovial, but he can't quite manage true joviality. "If you ask me to, I'll follow you to a meeting to express our desire to begin a PARIAH-related assignment as soon as possible."
“It’s good to know you have my back, Agent Hollingwood,” Guy smirks and leans back in his chair, enjoying probably what will be the last few moments of calm in his busy schedule for the day. “Still, like you say, I’m sure well get put on the case whether I ask for a meeting or not. It may just be more trouble than it’s worth.”
"Oh, you know I do. Give and take, a partnership. I know you've followed my suggestions when you were less than convinced of them. I return favours." Rami reaches up to tuck a little flick of his hair back into its rightful place. It's amazing he felt that.
”Right, of course. Well then well see how everything turns out. For now, though, this guy needs to be tracked before he hurts someone else.” Guy’s eyes flick to the file containing the information on whatever their working on. It’s likely important and very dangerous. Just the way Guy likes it.
”You have a way with words, Rami. You’ll be fine. Do you want me to come along?” He cocks his head a bit to one side. Of course, he *should* come along, but if they both chase different leads at the same time it could very well speed up the process.
"Ah, not until it comes to more…forceful tactics. Right now I've managed to convince him I am simply a hired investigator. If I show up with a partner, then he's going to suspect. And all it will take for him to go crawl into his bunker is the slightest whiff of government." Which is strange that Rami's been able to convince -anyone- he's not a spook. It practically oozes out his pores.
”Right, well good luck. It sounds like you’re likely to find the guy before me. Just don’t go running in, guns blazing, without me.” Guy smiles a bit eagerly. He’s loved the act of finally capturing a dangerous evolved.
"Of course not, my watery amigo. Ten years of being on a line by myself to spin in the wind makes me appreciate teamwork. Besides, what if there's someone who must be kept dry or die? Then you'd be terribly useful." A gentle dig. Rami finishes the last of his iced tea and sets the empty container lightly in the recycling bin.
Guy gushes sarcastically and grins, “You’re such a charmer, Rami. I don’t know what I would do without you.” He really doesn’t, but saying that with any amount of seriousness wouldn’t be appropriate for either of them.
"Oh, I'm well aware. That's why I'm such a storming influence around here." Rami's eyebrows arch upwards and wrinkle his forehead. "By the way…one of the new recruits has taken to calling me 'Bollywood.' I would appreciate it if his workout clothes became suspiciously damp in the near future."
”You would think a new agent would have a little more wit than that. Still, I’ll make sure it gets done.” Guy tosses a wink Rami’s way and the stands. “Well, I think I’m going to go have a chat with a little old lady named Bea. Enjoy the rest of your day, Agent Hollingwood.” Guy reaches over to a chair where he has laid his suit jacket neatly and picks up the clothing, which he puts on carefully so as not to wrinkle it.
"I do try terribly hard not to be a big mean Arab, but sometimes…" Rami shrugs and makes a motion with his hand. He also makes a point to make those words sounds as British as possible. "Good luck with your granny. They are the toughest nuts to crack, given that it is socially unacceptable to threaten them with terrible to dos."
”Tell me about it,” Guy says as he smoothes out his outfit a bit more. “I’ve eaten now, though, so I won’t nearly be as tempted to get nasty like I was earlier today.” He grabs some files off his desk and stuffs them in a thin, open briefcase, which he then snaps shut. “See you soon.” And then Agent Mahoney is off to squeeze information out of the elderly.
Any additional notes fall to the bottom.
November 18th: Job Training |
Previously in this storyline… Next in this storyline… |
November 18th: The Notebook |