controlledvariable | exsilium; ic inbox

Peachy.

[There's no hiding it, so she hopes acknowledging it and dismissing it with a simple word might help.]

Did something happen?

No, no. Nothing big. I just wanted to let you know that if we had any doubts about Luke being involved, two outta the three people he talks about trusting are Chloe and Charlie, so... there we go.

How about on your end? [He sounds worried - it's really just him rephrasing the question of whether or not she's okay.]

[She knows where this must be happening.]

One sec.

[just long enough to look it over, and there's the sound of typing and a rustle of movement.

(Thanks for the hug, Saul.)

When she speaks again, she's managed to get her voice steady, if a little flat.]

And Tempest, she was involed too. I'll report it to Rosyln, thank you for letting me know.

[Look at her, avoiding that question.]

Yeah, of course. [He had no intentions of actually reporting it to Roslyn, but as long as they're not pushing an arrest, he has no problem with her knowing. He's watched the way she's handled everything, and he hasn't had a problem with a thing.]

Steph. [A little coaxing, now.] Whatever's going on, you know I got your back, right?

[That helps and it doesn't, because it's so nice to hear someone say that, but it just makes her feel kind of overwhelmed in the other direction.]

There's a lot going on, Jaime.

[The mutiny and all the damn fallout, now this shit with Collette.

All she wanted to do was sleep for a few days, but she can't even have that.]

But I appreciate that, thank you.

Sort of the theme of this place, isn't it?

[He pauses reflectively, weighing whether or not to press her anymore. Eventually, he just says:]

Just, my phone's always on if you need anything. Seriously.

[She manages a laugh, it's tired, but real enough.]

Just when you start to think things might calm down...

[Everything goes to shit again.

Anyway:]

Thanks, really. I'm talking with the AI about heading on a mission to do some recon, see what I can find out about the cloning practices in the world. I'll keep you in the loop.

Yeah? That sounds great. I'm gonna get the ball rolling on that real soon, but I'll put a hold on it til you're back.

[He manages to say that without sounding petrified, which is a point in his favour! Because he is totally terrified of how it's going to work out. Or, more specifically, how it's not.]

[There we go; it's good to have something to focus on, even if she still sounds a bit exhausted.]

Yeah, it's not quite the same line you're going with, I'm thinking more of the regular Masked than the powered ones, but I figure we can pool our resources on it. You've done good work so far.

[Just...

She wants to reassure him, because he has done good work, and she doesn't know if people have told him that.]

Thanks. Let's hope it pays off. [It's soft, but genuine. People have told him that he's doing good work, but it helps every time. He never knew how much it mattered to go home to people who loved him and talked things through with him and supported him at the end of the day until they were gone.]

The Masked are connected to the powered ones anyway. Everything's connected, one way or another.

We'll make sure it does.

[It's not cocky, there's just a quiet sort of confidence.

Saul is probably looking at her a bit funny right now, but...

People not trusting her isn't new; it hurts that it was Collette, but she can deal with this the same way she always deals with people doubting her.

She can prove them wrong.]

You're right. If we can get rid of the Masked, it'll mean we don't need to worry about the powered ones.

[So... that's her plan.]

[He may not share Steph's confidence, but man, is it ever good to hear it.]

Exactly. We've already got history of them using cloning for their food and for growing organs, so we still need to be careful about exactly where we hit 'em, but we've got a start.

[He takes a deep breath.] But we have to remember that if we go through with this, we're erasing lives. The clones weren't doing this willingly. They were asking for help.

That's why I plan on doing the recon first, I'm not exactly a strategist, but having the information is the first step.

[She considers the next point a little more carefully, thinking about what Max said to her, about vigilante ethics and how they don't work in a war.

She doesn't want Jaime to go through the same thing she did.]

I haven't forgotten. If we can help them in other ways, we will, but we need to look at all our options.

[And if it gets to the point where she needs to... cut Jaime out of the decision making process so that he doesn't have to feel guilty about whatever comes, she will.]

Yeah. Okay. Just... making sure.

[He has no idea what his announcement is going to look like. He wishes he had a proposal prepared, but instead he's only got an assembly of ideas and facts.

Man, this turned into business in a hurry, didn't it?]

Anyway, I'll let you go now. Try to actually sleep sometime, yeah?

I slept for like ten hours straight the other day, you don't have to worry about that.

[There's something like a smile in her voice, trying to be reassuring.]

Thanks for getting in touch, Jaime. Take care, okay?

Yeah, you too. Talk to you soon.

[Annnnd disconnect!]