IC contact for maskormenace

[devoutish]

You've reached Alfie Solomons. Leave your name and state your business.

Alfie can be reached via the imPort network, or via a home phone and answering machine. He does have a cell phone, but it's not publicly available.

Comments

[devoutish]

Nothing here is normal. But, comparatively--

[Well.]

[trouvaille]

Literally, like, nothing at all. I mean, America is weird, but -

So, two things.

[devoutish]

[America is extremely fucking weird, and so is the future.]

Two things. All right.

[trouvaille]

Thing the first: I don't confide in people.

( no 'except my friends', just. that's not a thing, my guy. )

Obviously, having done so through no fault of my own, that's now an issue. Which I've decided to solve insofar as we are now friends, and you are non-negotiably stuck with me.

[devoutish]

Are you sure that won't make it worse?

[He sounds a little amused, though.]

[trouvaille]

No, but I had to rule out blackmail and murder and that left me with limited options.

( drier than the sahara )

[devoutish]

And what if I'm the sort to blackmail my friends?

[He's teasing you, Gwen. He's a dick.]

[trouvaille]

Then I'd be very silly not to befriend you, opportunistically acquire some compromising photos and end it in a stand-off of mutually assured destruction.

( match made in heaven tbh )

[devoutish]

[Okay, she handles being picked on well. That's a good sign.]

Well, there's certainly no fucking chance of that happening. I guess you're safe then, eh?

[trouvaille]

You say that now. ( serenely )

In which case thing the second is we should chat not on the phone.

[devoutish]

Mm. Paranoid about being listened to, or lonely and wanting company?

[trouvaille]

Yes.

( the latter feels like less of an admission, under the circumstances. )

[devoutish]

[He sends her the address of a public park in Maurtia Falls.]

[trouvaille]

( gwen does not, exactly, come alone; she brings with her a large dog, wolfish in the features but showing signs of growing yet bigger than he already is and thickly furred. she stands out even aside from that despite diminutive height even in heels, her leather trench coat pristine white.

that might be an illusory cheat.

she sends him a picture of her checking her imaginary watch. )

[devoutish]

[He sends her a picture of her, taken from a distance as he approaches. He's on his way, Gwen.

She'll see him coming, dressed in his usual old-fashioned clothing - black wool coat, black hat, wooden cane. There's not a lot of people in the park today, which is why he chose it. He's not really interested in being gawked at.]

[trouvaille]

( upon consideration, she saves the picture. she likes to know what's out there in the world of her, as much as possible.

putin rises from where he'd lain down when he realised they weren't continuing to walk, regarding alfie with canine skepticism and not subtly shifting the not inconsiderable bulk of his body between gwen and unlikely stranger. )

No, ( reflexively, before he can decide to take exception. ) Leave him.

Hi. You're looking brazenly anachronistic.

( --upbeat )

[devoutish]

Fucking hell, that's the biggest dog I've seen in my life. Where'd you pick it up, the zoo?

[Alfie Solomons, master of polite greetings.]

[trouvaille]

Eastern Europe. His daddy is a Russian bear fighting dog and his mother was a Czech wolf dog. Literally, they bred them with wolves. My stepmother gave him to me after she gave his sire the snip.

( putin accepts her absent-minded affection readily when she illustrates this story by scratching under his (massive) jaw. )

He's a good boy. I don’t have any security here, so...

( he goes where she goes and she feels safer. )

[devoutish]

How long does it take him to gnaw through a man's arm?

[He's joking, but he also wouldn't be totally surprised if she had an actual answer to that.]

[trouvaille]

( breezily; )

I look forward to finding out.

( it's 90% a joke. )

[devoutish]

Might get your chance with the paparazzi, eh?

[But, joking aside, he's here for a reason.]

Right. You wanted to speak in person.

[trouvaille]

Yeah. There's something I've been wondering, about ImPorts-

( senator hundred had been personable and helpful and forthcoming and this is not a question or even a line of thought she wanted someone in his position to be associating with her. she doubted she'd have trusted any answer he gave her on it, either, as much as she'd liked talking to him. )

Has anyone ever tried to...

( how to put this. )

Do you know if it's possible to dissect someone for their powers in this place? Like if you took something from someone, could it be used?

[devoutish]

[Well, that sure is a creepy question. And he's sure she's asking because she's worried about someone doing it to her, not because she's thinking about doing it to someone else.]

Haven't got a clue. If it's possible, I haven't heard of it.

[trouvaille]

There was a woman talking on the network about being killed for her power.

( add that to the list of sentences gwen never imagined she'd have to say out loud, with her own face, like it's normal. )

Where I'm from, ( since shed mentioned having her powers already, it's just expedient to be frank about where her concerns rise from, ) there's a market for that. Like selling powdered horn to get old men randy but nastier and real.

[devoutish]

"Powdered horn". Mm.

[The slang is lost on him - he doesn't know "randy" either. Maybe she means powdered animal horns - ivory? - for some kind of weird magic spell?]

Right, well, there's that one man out there, at least, that thinks it's possible. But if there's a market for it, if there's strong demand, it's nothing I know about.