Participants:
| Scene Title | Pack Your Things |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | An employee stops in to talk privately to his boss and finds out he missed a memo. |
| Date | February 23, 2011 |
Kristen's Office - K Studios
There's one man that usually pops up when least expected. And it isn't Kincaid August, in this case, but Dirk. The visit to the boss is planned around him, a careful eye kept on his comings and goings, an inquiry every so often to find out where he went. Only when he had a job that would take him out of the building for a good hour, which didn't happen til the afternoon, does his plan finally go into motion. Or it feels more like a plan, than it really is…
With a fresh cup of specialty brewed coffee from his personal machine in either hand, he makes his way to the bosses office.
In many ways it's like a soldier marching into the office of the general. And he still looks like one who'd been beaten up rather thoroughly, from the bruises and bandages and healing cuts are visible where he's not clothed.
There's a solid knock of ceramics against the wood, followed by a, "Ms. Reynolds? K? It's— K2." He had in mind a variety of words to say, but he doesn't get much further than that.
Looking up from her work, Kristen pulls her glasses off and sets them gently down on the top of the desk. "Kincaid, come in," the invitation is given in a professional manner. No personal touches like a friendly lilt in the voice or smile, though there is a curious upturn of her eyebrows. "Just K is fin, Miss Reynolds is for people I'm about to fire or people I don't like." At least it's an answer on where he stands with her.
Motioning to one of the chairs on the opposite side of her desk, she then folds her hands and lets them rest in front of her. The laptop remains open for now but her screen isn't visible from that side. "What can I do for you? Besides give you walking papers for that stunt you pulled? Going after Humanis First alone? Come on… that would be like me walking into the middle of a Messiah meeting and trying to fit in." Her point is, she wouldn't.
"That isn't at all what happened," Kincaid says once he's all the way inside, holding out the specialty cup of coffee in offer. "I was watching from a safe distance, and wasn't planning to get personally involved, but… something happened and I had to stop it." He hesitates, visibly, looking down and away as he takes a sip from his own cup. She gets the fancier one, he got the more simple office-style one.
"Anyway, I wasn't trying to go after them alone. The Dome went up and it was pretty much play along and hope. It almost worked— I only got found out a day or two before the Dome went down." Almost worked. Almost wasn't quite enough for his face or wrists, from the looks of them. And who knows what's all under his clothes. The collar of his suit shirt is even turned up, covering more.
"My point is, this is why we go out in pairs. It's like going to a bar, you always want to take your wingman, right? Just in case you need backup." The coffee is accepted with one hand and placed on a coaster at the edge of the leather blotter. With a shake of her head, Kristen dismisses the subject and moves on to better things. "I'm glad you're back in one piece, that's all." A difficult admission, delivered with a softer tone than the rest of the conversation so far, along with a slight smile.
"What did you come to talk to me about? Not the show, I'm guessing, since Russo isn't here." Then her eyes flick over to the side and she purses her lips slightly, "And I'm not a good one to ask romantic advice from either… but she looked a little young for you. That's all I'm saying."
"I wouldn't have gone down if there wasn't someone there to back me up," Kincaid says simply, though leaves out the details of how him and his potential back up got separated. It involved a van. Hitting him. So that he could take a shot he didn't really want to take. "I didn't really come to talk about what… wait— too young for me?"
The young man, who's a good ten years older than the girl in question, seems confused for a moment, and then blinks visibly as it hits him what she means. "What— you mean— No. No, she's just a friend." There's a softer murmur of, "Already have one boy ginger who wants to beat me up because of a girl I don't need two…"
That murmur is dismissed with something more clear, "I actually like older women, generally, and I— actually I was coming to see you because of that date… We never really got it." And as soon as those words are out of his mouth his free hand comes out, "Not like that. Even though I just… God damnit can we just rewind the last few minutes and start over?"
"You're absolutely right, we didn't get that date…" Kristen reaches for a small dayplanner and flips it through to the calendar month and twists it toward him. "What day is good for you then? Not tonight, I have plans already. Something next week or the week after? No wait, we have that trip coming up… Hmmmm…" She pulls it back to her and then furrows her eyebrows in thought. "You are packed and ready to go, right? And you got your new ID already?" If not— Dirk can get it.
"We could always do something when we get back, or even try in the next fiscal quarter… Expense accounts will be revisited by accounting, so if I'm planning to expense it I'll have a fresh start. Then again… I haven't used up my entire budget yet, now might be a good time." Then she licks her lips and clicks her tongue loudly. "Hmmmm…" It's always about the dollar signs and how to keep them. Dinner as a business expense can be written off.
The comment about the older women, that's left alone for the moment as she flips through screens on the laptop to review the quarter's earnings. "Yeah— yep.. Before April will be the best, so pick a date." Meeting his eyes, she lifts one eyebrow high on her head and gives a strained smile. "I thought we had our date last year before this whole— " She waves her hand and shakes her head. "Engagement thing. Anyway, except for tonight and the trip— you are packed, right?— I'm clear."
"Yeah, we both got a little distracted between… engagement fiasco," which from his expression he didn't much agree with. Might have explained his two week hiatus from work immediately following that incident. "And— " This is when Kincaid cuts off and his eyes narrow visibly. "I… got a temporary card back today, but what trip? What do I need to be packed for…"
Uhoh. Someone didn't deliver the memo.
"I can pack, but… what am I packing for exactly?" He doesn't quite look fit to be travelling still, even if he walks and moves just fine. Being able to control his own nervous system has perks.
"Jesus Dirk…" the hiss from the producer is probably on the ninth level of annoyance but she manages to hide it passably. Breathing out a long sigh, Kristen grabs her coffee and levels a gaze at Kincaid. "We're going on a little trip, some place called Coyote Sands in the middle of Arizona. So pack for a desert winter, time is of the essence here so you might want to take the day off to tie up any loose ends you have left from the— Dome."
An unnatural and very small smile crosses her lips, apparently she's trying to be reassuring.
"Don't worry, you're salary so it'll still be paid." Another small attempt. There's really not much she can say, really, sorry you just got out of a fishbowl and now we're sending you into the middle of a sandpit. welcome to television. "I've packed jeans, you might want to get some too," she's not sure if the younger man has jeans, she's never really seen him in anything but a suit.
"Oh, I own jeans, but I was glad to get back into slacks, honestly— I was wearing someone else's pants all through the Dome." Kincaid leaves out that they didn't fit very well, and he only had two changes worth. He would have had less if they'd found his registration card when they pulled him up into the van. "But I can pack for that," he says, touching his wrists a few times.
If they're traveling, he knows one thing he needs to do first. And that's go to a clinic with his new temporary registration ID and get all these wounds looked at.
"Yeah, I think I should take the rest of the day off so I can get ready for it— Hopefully this sandbox won't involve lots of shooting, cause I've had my quota of violence for the month already."
Kristen's dark eyes flicker toward Kincaid's, she doesn't look very amused. "There better not be shooting, I didn't sign up for shooting." Her voice is fairly cold and her words straight forward. His mention of it seems to have dipped her mood even further past the annoyance at Dirk's folly.
Looking back toward her laptop screen, she turns at her desk to face it rather than the assistant producer himself. "Thanks for the coffee and… don't worry about guns, I mean we're going to be in the middle of a dessert. Who else would be out there, right?"
