Roleplaying
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Seminars
| When: | 21 April 2005 |
| Who: | Damien, Sandra |
| What: | Sandra is finally out of the Tether, and Damien and Sandra see each other for the first time in a week. Damien then catches Sandra up with everything he knows -- that he hired a hacker, that he learned about the project at the University, and he has a few vague plans to shut the whole operation down. Damien considers pulling several small evils for one possible big good. |
360 - Austin
The area known as simply '360' is probably the richest section of Austin, despite being outside its perimeter highway, with several multi-million dollar residential districts scattered throughout and most especially around Lake Austin. The incredibly fast-growing industries inside the 360 contribute to the affluency of the area. More then a few of Austin's many parks are in this area, providing some very nice views for the rich whose homes overlook them or any traveller who cares to visit.
It's a cloudy day, with a strong, clean-smelling breeze arriving with the morning. Sandra is grinning as she enjoys it, although that may be rather hard to see, as she's tucked into an alcove by the Madison Apartment Building, where she has a good view of the street and the door, and is watching both intently.
Damien emerges from the building in his morning jogging track suit. The other businessmen around here have already gone to work, but he starts working at about 4am every day, and takes a break about now to go out and get some fresh air. He steps out of the building, stretches, and then stops to fuss with his iPod for a moment.
This is the moment Sandra has waited impatiently for. She peers left. She peers right. The coast is clear, and thus she glides across the sparse grass of the front lawn to sneak up behind Damien. Her grin threatens to split her face as she says, cheerfully, "Can I go running with you?"
Damien almost jumps out of his shoes. He wasn't paying attention, and then, bang, there's a Sandra. His iPod fumbles. He grabs it, takes a deep breath, and then latches it onto his belt. Then he turns to Sandra, looks her over slowly, taking in every inch of her, takes another deep breath, and says, "Only if I can kiss you."
Sandra laughs, and moves foward to throw her arms around Damien. "That you may do at anytime, love," she murmurs, and tilts her head up to kiss him fiercely.
Damien responds to the kiss with unbridled passion right there in front of the apartment building where anyone can see him. And he takes his time.
Sandra holds the kiss until breathing is required, then pulls back, lifting her hand to run her fingers through Damien's hair. "Oh, by the way...I'm back." A giddy grin accompanies the slightly breathless statement.
Damien kisses Sandra on the forehead and says, "I can tell."
Sandra kisses Damien's nose, and then releases him. Lifting herself on her toes, she asks, "So, I can run with you now? And you can tell me what's been going on while I've been in glorious exile."
"You can run with me," Damien says. "It's a beautiful morning. A great day for some fresh air."
Sandra looks up at the sky. "I quite agree. The sky looks as if it's filled with cotton. It's quite nice." She continues to grin and starts orbiting Damien. "How are you?"
"My better now that you're free again," Damien says. "I missed you terribly, even though we talked every day." He starts his run, and he assumes -- likely correctly -- that Sandra can keep up without problems. "It's been a crazy week."
Sandra falls in beside Damien without difficulty. "Indeed. Even in my situation, I could still read the news and so forth. It seemed very exciting. I am looking forward to becoming involved again." She smiles at him. "Crazy on a more personal level than the news would cover, love?"
"Crazy as in crazy," Damien says. "Oh, I hired the hacker. Did I tell you? I don't quite remember. I hired that hacker to poke around Dupont Industries's new university project."
Sandra tilts her head to look at Damien, her expression concerned. "Can you protect them? I thought you said Lyman came after you once he detected that you were asking questions. If he detects your hacker..."
"Well, I'm willing to take the brunt of whatever Lyman is going to do to her if he catches her," Damien says as he jogs, "Including all legal liability. If he catches her, I'll try very hard to bail her out. It's a risk I'm willing to take. Also, I pointed her at Kacela instaed of at Lyman."
Sandra ahhs, and nods. "Good thinking, Damien," she says, with approval. She tucks a swinging braid back behind her ear, and glances over at him as they run. "Are you okay with involving yourself like this?"
Damien explains, "It is either that, or sit by and do nothing. I get tired of doing nothing. Inaction makes me itchy. And I can either help these guys, or hurt these guys. If they're studying West Nile on a government grant in order to make biological weapons, I just don't want to sit idly by anymore."
Sandra smiles. "I will admit that I am glad to hear it," she says, tucking that wayward braid back as it comes free again. "I'm not actually convinced that I can deal with this myself."
"You shouldn't be dealing with them yourself," Damien says. "They're getting too big, too fast, with too many good contacts. One person alone will get squished, and personally, I would prefer no more squishing."
Sandra chuckles. "I think I cannot avoid it. Theoretically, I still have a job at Lyman's plant. And it wouldn't be fair to abandon the workers there. Besides, there's always the hopeful chance that he'll be kind enough to stand in front of dangerous machinery without anyone else around," she muses.
Damien laughs a little as he jogs. "I've thought up some particularly bizarre ways to take him down. Oh, also, I suggested to Kacela that, if Lyman wants to be a pillar of the community, he should find himself some Jesus. It is Texas after all, and I'd pay money to see him dishing up slices of apple pie at a Church Bake Sale."
Sandra chuckles in response. "It would be an amusing image. Although I'd rather prefer to isolate him from innocent humans. Without knowing what Band he is...although my money is on Impudite or Balseraph...it could be dangerous to give him yet another base of corporeal support."
Damien suggest, "He'd wear an apron that says 'Kiss the Cook.'"
Sandra visibly boggles at the mental images that creates. "I...that would be /wonderful/. In a deeply wrong way, but still."
"That's me, deeply wrong, and at your convenience," Damien says. "Somehow, I don't think it will come to pass. Neither will getting someone into the DoD to add thousands of random requirements to their new government grant."
Sandra blinks. "No, I doubt it, I fear. Although it would be a good way to at least slow them down. Do you know anything about the specific project going on at the University? It's possible we could interfere on that level."
"They have a formal government grant to do research on an immunovaccine for West Nile Virus, and have given the University enough money to use their facilities, their faculty and their graduate students to do the research," Damien explains. "This is their first foray into pharmaceuticals research. Because of the multi-year time lag to getting something researched, tested, and on market, I suspect what they're really doing is taking DoD money to build bombs."
Sandra mmmmms. "If we could prove that's what they were doing, it could be a blow for the company, and for Lyman personally, could it not? If people knew what was going on." She falls back a little to switch to running on Damien's other side.
"And thus, I hired a university student who runs a computer security company to get into their computers and find me some information," Damien says. "It isn't something I can do myself. I also know that Kacela Howard is the project manager for this particular little bit of nastiness, and that this is her first real management job." He pauses. "I know this because I, um, asked."
Sandra nods. "And that's suspicious enough on it's own. She's supposed to be a social worker, and I assure you, research management is not one of our typical skills." She glances at Damien. "You know she's a Balseraph, I hope? Do not listen overly closely to her, Damien."
Damien stops jogging. "No, I didn't know. I thought she was like me."
Sandra stops with him and nods. "Tyrr says that she is a Balseraph, and being what he is...I see no reason to argue against his belief. And she was directly involved in the murder of a Soldier of God."
"Ah," Damien says. "You know, I have yet to meet Tyrr. Probably why I'm still breathing."
Sandra smiles. "Tyrr is not so very bad. It is probably best that you not meet him for a while, however. Unless you decide that it was Michael you wished to meet." She starts jogging in place.
Damien continues jogging. "I'm not entirely convinced it isn't, but I don't know if Tyrr will take my head off." He goes quiet for a moment, and then says, "I am glad I told Noah to stay away from Kacela, but you know, it goes in one ear and out the other with him."
Sandra sighs, and nods. "If it makes you feel better, he really doesn't want to be with her. He called me wondering how he could get out of the appointment with her. I will have to see if he was successful." She keeps up with Damien with ease. "And Tyrr would likely not take your head off. He let me drive his car," she adds, as if this were the sole riteria for being a reasonable person.
"I am a demon, he is a Malakite, and I have to respect his position in things," Damien says. "I don't have to be happy about it, but I have to respect him and how he operates. And I know I'm hanging around too much in an angel bar."
Sandra raises an eyebrow. "Damien, you are a demon. However, you have also indicated willingness to at least consider not being one, a willingness which is supported by two angels not of the same Word or Choir. I honestly do not believe that you are much in danger from any Malakite who can be persuaded to listen beyond the immediate smite reaction. And Tyrr, although as subtle as a baseball bat to the head, is not stupid."
"Well, we'll see," Damien says. "In the mean time, I'm spending all of my time trying to figure out what to do about Dupont Industries. I still think a good lawyer could get them investigated for less than code working conditions, regardless if they're up to code or not."
Sandra hmms. "The only lawyers I know are criminal law, not corporate. But I plan to spend a great deal of time there in the upcoming days, and I hope that I can gain information that could be used to spur an investigation."
"I know a perfectly good corporate lawyer who also is, well, a Kobalite and a balseraph," Damien says, slightly embarrassed. "We won't be using Nastor, even if he is driving me bonkers. Now, you, as a social worker, you might be able to file a claim with the State, but then I'd need to grease someone to get it expedited."
"I'd need due cause for a claim, Damien. Which I may be able to have. I just need to inspect the plant, particularly the safety features, and see if I can get the workers to open up to me. I strongly suspect that something shady is going on there that is something human courts will actually acknowledge. I just have to find proof." She takes in the last bit, and her brow furrows as she jogs. "...grease?"
"Some well placed political influence for people in Houston to consider this matter before other complaints," Damien says. "Probably a bribe, but I might be able to put pressure on a state legistator to push pressure down on them through the legistator's funding. Meaning, if I can get the Republicans to threaten to pull some election funding from a legislator unless he puts pressure on the government to see your claim and move it to the courts, then when you file a claim, review isn't 5 years from now."
Sandra frowns. "That doesn't sound very...well, what I mean is, if the matter is important, then I'm sure the people will understand and expedite the issue without being bribed or threatened. It's their duty," she says, firmly.
"They're bureaucrats," Damien says. "It's basically one big Game operation anyway. They'll sit on a claim until it moves through at a snail's pace until someone gives them some incentive to move."
Sandra blinks, looking troubled. "But people are being hurt. That's incentive enough for anyone, I should think, Damien. I'm sure there are good people in the system, and you can't encourage more by, by...well, by doing things that encourage and reward badness."
"It's a problem of the least possible evils," Damien explains. "You can put pressure on one person to expidite a request for an investigation that might shut down the operation with the aims of killing thousands. And that one person is not being harmed, just being pressured to put paperwork on the top of a stack."
"But they're not doing it for the right reasons," Sandra points out, still frowning. "It's not...that person is being harmed, because they're encouraged to think that's the way things are supposed to work, with the powerful forcing their interests to the top through money or threats. Whether those interests are justified or not, it still sends the wrong message. It would be better to talk to the people involved in their dreams, and help them to understand the importance of the issue. Then they will choose to do the right thing because it /is/ the right thing, and without enforcing bad habits." She speeds up and turns around, beginning to jog backwards in front of Damien. She gives him a smile. "And that will be better, won't it?"
Damien stops jogging, sighs, puts his hands on Sandra's shoulders, and kisses her. When he pulls away, he says, "I love you, Arnon, Wheel of Dreams. But the world is a complicated place. Just file that claim and tell me when you do."
Sandra is kissed. Kisses back agreeably enough. "I love you, too, Damiel," she says, then raises a finger to shake at him. "But you really should have more confidence in humanity. They're really quite beautiful, when given a chance to choose the right." She sighs. "But for now, I must be off. Lots of work to catch up on. Take care, love."
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