Subjugating the Apocalypse

Participants:

alister_icon.gif des2_icon.gif kaylee2_icon.gif margaux_icon.gif richard3_icon.gif sibyl4_icon.gif

Also Featuring:

etienne_icon.gif

Scene Title Subjugating the Apocalypse
Synopsis Negotiations are sometimes rocky.
Date June 1, 2018

Staten Island Trade Commission: Penthouse


To mask the lingering smell of ocelot, there are scented sugar doughnut candles all over the penthouse, sitting on fancy tables and such. Someone leads Richard and Kaylee up the elevator, which is then unlocked for them to enter the fancy penthouse proper.

They're told to go to the dining room table, where fancy tea sets, pastries and upscale designer candy has been laid out.

Alister himself sits on the far end of the table, in his motorized wheelchair. He's in a pure white suit, for business, with a shiny white tie. "Make yourselves at home, have a seat, get comfortable." Then he motions a hand. "Bodyguards and what-have-you can go to the living room so that we can all speak privately. If it all goes south we can have a proxy war with our bodyguards, it'll be fun." he darkly suggests, before laughing and having a sip of tea.

It's black tea.

Etienne tips Alister a cynical look at his instruction to wait outside, but does as he's told, leaving his employer, his employer's ward, and the woman calling herself Desdemona Desjardins at the mercy of Richard Ray and his sister the telepath.

It is perhaps not the wisest decision the head of the Staten Island Trade Commission has made today.

While he thinks he is getting the pair of Ray siblings, in truth, when the door opens to admit them, it is only Kaylee Ray-Sumter who steps through, proceeded by a bodyguard fully outfitted in Aegis armor. A Raytech specialty. She only steps past him, once he has had a good look at the room ahead of them.

Finally, standing at the end of the table, flanked by her bodyguard, she is dressed for business in her black power suit, red blouse, and blonde curls pulled up on her head into a loose bun. "Mr. Black. I am glad we could finally meet. My brother will be here momentarily, I assure you." Her hands spread a bit, as she takes a look around. "I am very impresses with how you have set yourself up."

What they don't know is Kaylee is doing more then looking about the room and complimenting. Her ability sweeps out around her, checking.

Blue-eyes follow the departure of the bodyguards, though her's still stands there, not making any move to follow. Okay… maybe she was watching Etienne a little too. Her head turns to look back at the guard. "It's fine. It's all clear," she finally releases him to follow the others, though there might be a slight tone of irritation, too.

The other bodyguard standing beside the Raytech executive does not budge from his position beside her, his feet not moving so much as a centimeter; clad head to toe in AEGIS-class body armor in midnight black, including face-concealing helmet. Once the doors of the room are closed, a gauntleted hand lifts to tap something upon his belt, a blinking white light awakening upon the small box.

To those with sensitive ears, a faint, distant reverberating whine may be heard. To most bugs and other recording devices, all they'll be recording is an unpleasant screech of white noise.

The featureless helmet turns to the woman beside him, considering her words for a moment before nodding once. Hands lift, pulling the helmet from his head and tucking it neatly beneath one arm. The hazel eyes of Richard Ray settle upon the man in the wheelchair, the faintest of smiles tugging up at the corner of his lips. "You wanted to speak with me, I believe, Mister Maxwell?"

It feels like ages since Desdemona left her friends to make new ones on Staten Island. Lounging on the divan with a book in her lap that she isn't paying attention to and a forlorn expression as she stares out the window, the state of her roots - blonde and white - says it has been some time. And that her brand isn't readily available out here.

Her head lifts when company arrives. At first, she only watches the reflections in the glass in front of her, but feels some sort of familiar resonance - an intuition - that tells her to turn and get a better look. She isn't disappointed when she sees Kaylee. A broad smile spreads across Des' face as she sets the book aside and sits up straighter. She doesn't rush across the room, though her heart skips a beat when that helmet comes off and reveals the true identity of Kaylee's second guard.

This is business, and Des is in this place as a guest. Folding her hands in her lap as she swings her legs over the side of the divan carefully, her smile fades and she watches.

Richard Ray strikes Sibyl as someone who is both cautious and competent. This is a combination that has her attention from where she'd been arranging a plain glass vase of fat pink peonies to brighten up the table. She snips off the bottom quarter of the stem she's presently fussing with using a pair of scissors, then sets the tool aside. Hands freed, the tips of her fingers search for the best place in the arrangement to stick it.

It's nice, too, to see Kaylee again, even if her face was streaked with tears the last time the two sat opposite one another.

Today her eyes are dry as they study Richard from across the room.

"Well, power is in the mind. No matter how poor you become, if you have a truly powerful mind, you can forge whatever you want from the ground up." Alister assures, motioning for them to partake in the spread of fancy snacks and tea.

"My next step is to begin fixing the water treatment plants. The first will be the one that can provide clean water for this immediate region of Staten, in my continued efforts to civilize things. After clean water will come more resources to undertake even more civil projects, such as instituting law enforcement to make my own Safe Zone on Staten Island." he explains all of this before picking up a simple biscuit, in the British sense of the term, taking a small bite of it.

"Richard Ray, the reason that I called you here is to ask you to invest." He would have complained about the other bodyguard staying behind if not for the reveal, but he's already moved on from that, and washes his bit of biscuit down with more tea.

His eyes briefly shift to Sibyl, smiling, then they're back to Richard's "With the gradual renewel of a more legitimate economy, the restoration of safety, and simple things like water and more proper housing, I believe that your relatively small contribution will create massive returns as we increase the health of our business relations into the future."

Not quite finish, he takes a deep breath, his tone becoming something more… sympathetic. "Based on your own background, I feel that you can understand the plight of these people more than those at Yamagato or any of the other companies that could care less about Staten Island and its suffering."

Where the fuck is his sister? There is a goddamned telepath in this room and his sister still isn't here yet.

Alister doesn't have quiet thoughts.

As she moves to sit, Kaylee does take time to acknowledge Des and Sibyl with knowing smiles. She'd wave, but she is trying to keep up that professional air about her. The one she uses in client meetings and such. Seated she doesn't slouch, sits properly as she was taught in another time, but she doesn't really let down her guard. Which means not partaking in anything. A telepath has to be careful after all.

Kaylee is also listening to the very loud thoughts of Alister. It's hard not to… really.

What she appears to be doing, outwardly, is listening to is the words he is speaking out loud. There is mild interest in this idea, though her mind is already turning, a glance going to Richard.

As the man in the wheelchair speaks, Richard's attention drifts briefly to the woman on the divan— pausing there for only a breath before turning back to Alister as the man details his plans for Staten Island. As the last is spoken, he breathes out a soft chuckle, inclining his head slightly.

"It isn't an entirely poor plan," he admits, "It's how we attempted it, back in the day. This island would have been ours, if the government hadn't decided to frame us for pattern-bombing civilians, taking the excuse to seize the airport from us and putting all our good work to nothing."

"Others have tried before you. Chicago Air. The Linderman Group. Only one man succeeded, in a future that we'll never see, and they're six feet in the ground now," he says more grimly, fixing a steady gaze on Alister, "This island is covered in gangs, crime lords, and scum. The sort of people I used to spend time with, to be honest, so I'm rather well-aware of their capabilities. What makes you think that you can take that from them without them torching your fledgeling empire to the ground, Mister Maxwell?"

Des' eyes settle on Alister while he speaks. The use of his other name by Richard is not lost on her. Her lower lip is drawn between her teeth to help her suppress a smile as the exchange continues. Every so often, her attention turns to Sibyl, trying to gauge what the girl is thinking.

Des lacks the ability to know what's happening behind Sibyl's eyes.

The same is not true of Kaylee.

Sibyl isn't thinking about Alister's proposal, or even Staten Island. She's wondering why the woman who calls herself Natalie Gray wants to see Richard dead, wondering what he and Kaylee could have possibly done to inspire anger that burns so white hot Sibyl can feel it smoldering in her own chest whenever they're in close proximity to one another.

"Sorry I'm late," says Margaux Maxwell as she shoulders into the room with a swoop of her silk bathrobe and a tinkle of ice rattling in the glass she holds in her dominant hand. A lit cigarette dangles from the other. She prances into the penthouse in her bare feet, blonde hair twisted into a elegant updo at the back of her head.

Alister's sister might be dressed like she just got out of the shower, but the dramatic wings of her cat's eyes and false lashes are too pristine, too precise.

She's just lazy. Or drunk.

Probably both.

"My other meeting ran looong," Margaux adds, drawing out her vowels just a little too far.

Alister tilts his head when Richard uses his real name, and then he rests his hands on the table. "I stole a multi-billion dollar company from my ruthless father just to prove a point. I strangled armed members of Humanis First with my bare hands during that war, because, and I don't say this lightly, I wanted their deaths more than they wanted to live, this is why they are dead and I'm sitting here offering Jacques Torres chocolate to my guests as a show of power. Were you aware that chocolate could be a display of power? That is something a man like myself understands."

He stops to take a slow sip of his tea, then gently lowers the cup back to its saucer.

"The men on this island are thugs. Intelligent, savvy, survivors, but thugs nonetheless. I have no intention of drawing the government's attention, and I fully intend to have the favor of the people if or when such a thing does happen. If the government comes after me, I will be a martyr." He raises his hands, then just laughs. "Let them come, let the government make me more powerful."

"Richard Ray." He looks the man dead in his eyes. "I, Leonardo Raphael Maxwell, am only two steps removed from Satan himself. I will succeed where good and lesser men have failed, because I am not a good man, and I am not a lesser man. But you are a good man, and a greater man, and that is all the more reason for you to make a deal with the devil, and make sure that this island has the influence of a good man, while a man like me does what it takes to make this island a better place, for my own personal gain."

His eyes narrow on Margaux.

There is another sip of tea.

"Yikes," squeaks Margaux, tiptoeing around Alister on her way toward Des, "heavy."

Brows lift at 'Maxwell's' tirade, eyes turning a little thoughtful, then slowly a small smile tugs at the corner of Kaylee's lips. "Yikes, indeed," is practically purred out in amusement, tipped with a dose of sarcasm.

A sideways glance is sent to her brother, "And you thought I was exaggerating, dear brother." She might had regaled her brother in the story of the encounter on the boat.

A name flits through her barriers, it catches her attention, much like the sudden actions of a bird might catch the attention of a snake coiled in wait. Blue eyes find a young girl, focus on her. Curious. Her ability doesn't coil around the young ward of Alister, she is mostly busy with the man himself, listening. Though she knows what is buried in that young mind, which is why her ability gives pause. Never the trusting one. Displeasure hisses at the back of her mind, but it is ignored for the conversation at hand… and so that she can warily watch Alister's sister.

"You really weren't," Richard replies with a low chuckle to Kaylee's words, shaking his head slowly before looking back at Alister and considering him for a long moment. "You aren't the devil, Maxwell," he says, almost gently, "I don't think you really understand what evil is, beyond the petty evils you deal with here on Staten Island, in your old corporate life. "

One hand comes up, a gloved finger scratching at his chin briefly as he quips, "Then again, I believe you did date Eileen."

"I've made deals with far greater devils than you," he says then, fixing his own gaze back on Alister, "But I don't believe you can do what you claim, even with my money and technology backing you. You need to convince me that there's more reason to assist you than to, say, put one of my people in charge of this project and drop them on the island with a squad of Redbirds to do the exact same thing— with less mustache-twirling." A slight lean forward, "Accomplish something on this island with your own resources, to prove you can do it. Stop spending your money on chocolate and show me what you can do, and then perhaps we can talk."

Des rubs her hand over her throat, which has been left bare and leaves her scars on display. People don't look at you twice for something like that in a place like this. Her eyes grow wide with alarm when Alister openly welcomes the thought of bringing the government down on all their heads. It rather defeats her purpose of laying low here.

When Margaux makes her approach, Des pats the empty space next to her on the divan and shakes her head slowly, looking helpless. Then, she reaches out for her friend's glass. Please? Something needs to take this edge off. Especially once Eileen's name is brought into it. Why couldn't she have brought the decanter? Now one of them has to go back for it, and it's across the room. Which means dancing through this pea soup-like tension the men call business negotiations.

Margaux passes the glass to Des, which is just as well because she needs a hand that doesn't have a cigarette in it to stifle the laughter threatening to bubble out of her mouth. She taps ash into the nearest tray, positioned on a nearby end table with a polished marble top and bronze, clawlike feet.

"This is all so serious," she murmurs through her fingers as she sinks down onto the divan beside Des. "You'd almost think this was life-or-death, and not just a silly old game of corporate Monopoly."

"If you put your own men down here, I'll consider it a territory war and then I suppose we'll both lose." Alister crosses his arms, considering the man's words. He's heard far worse criticisms of himself from people with far less decency than Richard Ray, but still, he thinks, and considers.

"The evil that you know is usually a far lesser evil than the evil that you don't know. But, well, let's consider." He eats one of those chocolates, because they're his luxurious designer chocolates that people aren't taking a moment to eat, the proper thing to do.

Ugh, new money, is a particularly loud thought at what he perceives as rudeness for not partaking in food.

"I could very well repair one of the water treatment plants with my current resources. Well, to some extent, as the repairs would also include some infrastructure repairs. The cost alone would be at a great loss to myself, and I wouldn't be able to return water to nearly as many people. The cost to provide water will be much higher on the people, in the end…" But, at this, he smiles, and shakes his head.

Looking up at Richard, he shrugs. "The way that I'll have to do things will not seem entirely humane, but they will be entirely necessary if I'm going to provide water without going entirely bankrupt. But I assume that's when Raytech will swoop in and provide their resources."

"I do hope, however, that we can work together, rather than against each other." He motions around, to, well, really the entire area, all that encompasses what he currently has. "You have more money than me, more resources than me, but ultimately, your company is still young, and I'd wager that you're still swimming in a pool of sharks that I've evaded a thousand times. If not for my untimely death, and Eileen, my company would still be standing. If we work together, your company could possibly be so much more than it is, and I could provide my experience and expertise to things far beyond this one project."

"You're new money, Richard Ray, don't assume that you don't have room to learn and grow." He motions to Margaux, now. "Are you coherent enough to even know why you're here?" he asks, because, well… "Drink some water."

Leaning forward a little, resting folded hands on the edge of the table, Kaylee's full attention is on gentleman on the other end of the table. She has been content to let her brother talk, but now she makes her own presence known as a Board Member of Raytech. "Excuse me, Mr. Maxwell," her voice is pleasant. "Let me see if I am understanding correctly." She takes a moment to gather her thoughts, tip of her tongue wetting her lips.

"You say you brought us in here, not just for our money, but also that we understand all that." that is motioned to vaguely, the world outside the window. "You know what I was, you know what he was, and yet you want us to blindly invest. We lived that out there and we know what those people are capable of… we've done it ourselves."

A rueful smile is offered Alister and Kaylee shakes her head slowly. "I'm sorry. I have to agree with Richard. Put up or shut up. Prove you can protect what we invest in. I will not allow our company to blindly invest in a project that will have the attention of every thief, drug lord, gang, and scrapper out there." No offense to Deckard, she thinks to herself. Taking a deep breath, she looks to her brother and lifts brows at him to see if he agrees with her thoughts.

A single eyebrow lifts noticably upwards at the other man's words, Richard's head turning to regard his sister as she speaks. He nods, chin dipping slightly in agreement, and then he turns his gaze back to Alister - and is silent for a long moment.

"Tell me, Mister Maxwell," he asks in slow, careful tones, "Do you know of a place that was called the Commonwealth Arcology? I'm sure you saw it in the news before the war, they were replaying the footage of the atrocities for months. I think they still show it in documentaries in places that still get television."

I could kill him, Des thinks before downing a good amount of what was in Margaux's glass. She pulls a face, but it does what she needed. She feels slightly less murderous after a few moments. "I think your brother's rather rude to people whose help he'd like to enlist," she murmurs to her companion. "I don't think I understand this business tactic of his."

Raytech's on the other hand… Mention of the Commonwealth Arcology has her shifting uncomfortably in her seat. And she isn't even the person that mention is directed toward. She lost far too much there. It's not a comforting memory.

"Boys, boys," Margaux says, leaning forward so that her elbows rest on the insides of her thighs, and although her bathrobe is cinched at the middle with a sash, everyone in the room can clearly see the leopard-print nightgown she's wearing beneath it. She waves at the cloud of cigarette smoke gathering in front of her face in a feeble attempt to disperse it. "Look. I'm sure your dicks are both huge. Mammoth, even. So can we talk like we're fucking human beings for just a second here?"

Like Des, the mention of the Arcology suddenly has Sibyl on edge. Even from where she's standing, Kaylee is able to pick up on the sharp uptick in the girl's heartbeat. Dread settles into her bones.

"Leo," Margaux continues. "Stop treating this like it's a competition." She gestures to Richard with a vague swish of her lit cigarette. "You can't invite Robocop into our home and lord over him like Winter Is Coming. Westeros wasn't built in a day, so just give the nice man what he's asking for and maybe try smiling a little."

"Do I know it?" Alister just laughs, and then his expression turns deadly serious, and he slams a fist against the table. "They're the reason I no longer have my ability, an ability I would have used to destroy this gangster filth ten times over by now. They stole my company right from under me, and ran it into the ground while I had no choice but to hide under an assumed identity. Do I know it?" he repeats the question back.

"I fully intend to strangle anyone I meet who has even so much as breathed a positive breath in their direction, with my bare hands. In fact, I have, it was satisfying." Then, straightening his tie, he clears his throat.

"But yes, to answer your question…" A sip of tea. "I've heard of it."

"Stop watching so much TV." he offers to Margaux, and then just sighs, briefly resting his forehead against his hand, before sitting up straight again. "I will invest into this project, and show you that I am more than capable of maintaining it, and then we'll revisit this meeting and this offer. Please excuse my sister, she's not here for her business savvy, she's here because you brought your telepathic sister."

Margaux gets an amused look from the telepath, a glance to her brother. "I like her," Kaylee says softly.

While there is concern for young Sibyl, Kaylee forces herself to focus on Alister. Blue-eyes narrow at him, is she reading his mind now? He'll never know. "Have you even bothered to read into Raytech, Mr. Maxwell?" There is a bit of a trap in that question. Plainly obvious. She knows the answer to that question. "I mean more then look at the pretty pictures on the website?" A single brow tips up in question.

"Yes, I am a telepath," Kaylee offers pleasantly at first, but then her tone goes flat, "But that is not the reason I am here. Richard, make sure the man gets a business card before we leave." She adds for Maxwell's benefit, "It has our website on it. A lot of good information. My brother here even blogs; quite impressive."

"Actually, I think your sister has shown more business savvy than you have," Richard notes in wry agreement with his sister, offering the woman in question a faint smile and inclining his head to her, before turning his gaze back to the confessed strangler across from him. That smile tugs up, wry, at the corner of his mouth. "That's all very ironic, really. Did you know that the name of the company that completed the Arcology is listed on the official paperwork? What was it… ah, yes. Maxwell Development Corporation."

"I would hold onto that alias of yours, were I you, Mister Maxwell. I don't think that Hana Gitelman would buy your story that the company was stolen from you and you just decided to hide under an alias for several years because you were innocent," he observes in deadpan tones, "You might want to avoid any future galas, she tends to get invitations."

"Show us what you can do out here and then we'll talk again," he says, turning and starting to raise his helmet before pausing, glancing back over one shoulder, "Oh, and be careful… I'm told that you have Horsemen on your island. I'd listen for trumpets, were I you. Kaylee, unless— shit, I need to update that blog— unless you have anything else to say to the good man?"

"Well said," Des murmurs to Margaux. Even if Alister doesn't think so. Holy shit things are getting intense here. She downs the contents of the glass and hands the empty vessel back to her before getting to her feet to cross half the distance to her visiting friends.

"I can see them out, Mister Black." Des dips her chin, deferring to his preference, "If you would like me to." An apprehensive glance is cast up to Kaylee, then Richard.

"Don't be too angry with him, Mr. Black." That's Sibyl, breaking her silence. She makes her final adjustment to the floral arrangement, fluffing the creamiest and featheriest peonies to keep them from drooping too much. "He's only being mean because he's scared. The armor gives him away."

There's no bitterness in the girl's tone, no edge honed to hurt. Sibyl doesn't need to be the sort of telepath Kaylee is to know that Richard's wounds are still fresh. She's read the story in the papers about the tragic land mine accident that wasn't.

"Mr. Ray," she says, "I'm very sorry about Ms. Davignon… but what if, instead, in exchange for the seed money that the Trade Commission is asking for, Mr. Black used his influence here on the island to do something about those trumpets for you."

"Hana Gitelman already hates Alister Black because we had a mild disagreement of ethics during the war." Alister rolls his eyes at the mere mention of Hana. "Daniel Knight took control of my company when the Institute kidnapped me. I still hesitate to return to being Leonardo Maxwell because I very much suspect that either former Institute agents or thick headed zealots like Hana might come after me without thinking. I need a sufficient amount of power and resources before I can make myself and my story known again."

"I have no intention of being Alister Black forever, I want my family name back." He motions a hand over to Margaux. "Poor Margaux should be allowed to be proud of who she is again, as should I. I won't allow Daniel Knight to tarnish my legacy. Look into it, you'll see that I'm telling the truth. I just don't have anyone willing to listen yet, no safe way to come out of hiding, so here I am, with this alias."

"I've been through a lot, as has my poor dear sister. All I want to do is rebuild my family from the ground up, find a way to take my name back, to clear the damage to my reputation that Daniel Knight has done, and perhaps one day work with you to repair this island." He reaches a hand out, offering it to the two of them.

"I apologize for my disrespect. I'm used to a business environment where it's understood that no one is actually nice and no one actually respects each other. But clearly you are people of a different breed than the vicious predators that I'm used to." he says this as a compliment, at least that's what his tone would suggest. "I would like for our relationship to be a pleasant one. Perhaps I should take advice from my sister and relax, though only if she'll drink some water." he sternly points to a glass of water on the table, that he had just sort of waiting there.

"Hold on, Des." he holds up a hand, listening to Sibyl. Then he looks to Richard, eyebrow raised. "Mr. Ray, what is my advisor talking about? What trumpets?"

A sharp glance goes to Sibyl at the mention of Remi, lips pressed tightly, but Kaylee doesn't say anything. She wasn't as close to the other telepath as Richard was. So she looks to her brother on that one.

Much like Alister seemingly ignored Kaylee this whole meeting, the hand he offers is likewise ignored. A bit petty, but there you have it. Sibyl's offer is an interesting one, brows tipping up. To turn the criminal element on the Horsemen would be an interesting one. Better then to spill innocent blood. She offers this to her brother in silent communication as she studied the young girl who seems to have a better head on her shoulder.

"Raytech isn't in business just to make us rich, Mister Maxwell," Richard replies in dry tones to Alister's words, glancing back over his shoulder with a frown, "We are here to build a better future for the world. That isn't just some… corporate logo. If I wanted to rule over a wasteland while I sat in wealth, I assure you— I could be."

Not many could say that and literally know it's true.

"You also haven't addressed my sister once, and might I note that she is also on our board of directors," he adds, "Now, if you'll…"

Then Sibyl is speaking, and he pauses, his expression changing as he regards her steadily for a few heartbeats. One hand is held up to Alister as if to say one moment, the adults are speaking, and he asks her, "And do you know who those are?"

"Iago Ramirez," Sibyl says, willing her voice not to quake when she speaks the name out loud for the first time. "Emile Danko," and there's little she can do to prevent the crack from splintering through that one. She pauses to swallow, hands coming together to clasp loose at her abdomen.

Margaux reclaims her glass from Des, meanwhile, and sniffs at its contents even though her nose has already become desensitized to them. As Alister sips his tea, she sips her whiskey.

"I don't want to say the next one," Sibyl confesses, stalling. "Please don't make me."

"I apologize for not attempting to negotiate with a telepath, it seemed hazardous to my health." Alister adds without any particular hesitation. "Any business person I've ever known with access to telepathy wouldn't hesitate to use it to their advantage in a negotiation."

Then, when Sibyl says 'please', he raises a hand. "You don't have to do anything that you don't want to, in my home." he says rather protectively of Sibyl, then sighs, certainly aware of the name Emile Danko, and then crosses his hands on the table. "I'll consult with my head of security, and then, if you want these people gone, they'll be gone. I was already about to put a bounty out on Emile Danko's head anyway, but if I have to do the job myself, with my men, then so be it."

"Any sane business person out for blood should," Kaylee comments blandly at Alister, "I'm not here for blood." This time, her tone seems to say. "Try to remember, Mr. Maxwell. If you want to forge partnerships, you gotta stop acting like we are all to be crushed under your heel." She leans forward a little, a hand pressing to the table for balance. "And we don't have any interest in someone who would rather rule over us, than to work with."

That said, Kaylee straightens and puts a hand on Richard's arm. Remembering, something she caught earlier in the thoughts of the teenager. "It's clear you know who they are." Kaylee offers to Sibyl, voice gentle, "Yes or no would have sufficed. No need to name them." She smiles a little, "As they say, there is power in names, sometimes. No need to invoke the names of the dead or those that should be dead." So to speak.

"You don't need to," says Richard, his expression softening a bit at the last words of the teenager, "I know them all."

Sibyl's considered for a few moments, and then he turns fully back towards Alister. "She knows what you're dealing with. She knows what you'll need to stand up to the Horsemen," he states briskly, suddenly decisive on the matter, "Prove that you can, and I'll support your efforts here within reason and available resources. I'll even send you some… help, in the meantime. They have some experience in this area, and they'll fit in with your operation just fine."

A brow lifts, "Do we have an agreement, Mister Maxwell?"

Des wrings her hands together in front of her while she listens to the names. She had one of those names already, and the other is no shock either. Wetting her lips, she nods her head slowly, staring up at Richard as he offers his bargain.

"Horsemen." Alister repeats, and then laughs, because he can't help but belittle things in some way. "You're correct, Kaylee. I'll agree to this mutual respect, that if we're going to perhaps pursue a partnership in the future, I can't simply treat you like yet another mountain to overcome."

"But yes, these Horsemen, as theatrical as they are, I'll will bring them to heel. Since they're being so dramatic, I suppose I'll create the Archangels. I'm already Raphael, I suppose I simply need a Gabriel and a Michael, perhaps some obscure ones too." he laughs, because he finds humor in everything. Those who live with them know this by now, that he looks down at the world itself. "We have a deal. I'll carefully plan the execution of these Horsemen."

His hand is offered again, for Kaylee and Richard. "I look forward to subjugating the apocalypse."


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