Roleplaying
2004 Archive
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Seminars
| When: | 1 November 2004 |
| Who: | Adlai (as Annabelle), Alexander, Bronwen, Elizabeth, Zaman |
| What: | Elizabeth meets a new acquaintance, but also has the misfortune of encountering Alexander at Fadó's as well. |
Fado Irish Pub and Restaurant
Fado's has become a hotspot for many of the locals. The place is split between three different sections, the bar and tavern in one room, another room for the restaurant, and an outside patio area as an extension of the restaurant; all of which are no smoking. The owner, Tyrr Ceallaghan, opened Fado's two years ago and has advertised and made enough deals to watch it grow.
The bar and tavern room has a counter top bar where any of the patrons can sit and talk with the bartenders or their fellow patrons. Near the bar there are a few tables where anyone can sit with friends, share a drink, and just have a good time.
The restaurant and patio area is your classic walk in dine-in restaurant, with different celtic elements on the walls and in the way the rooms are built. The waitresses and waiters are dressed in all black, and always very courteous, as the owners insist on top quality customer service.
It's a somewhat busy time of the day at the local restaurant/pub. Although there are no TVs in this pocket of Austin, the drone of multiple conversations makes up for the lack of that particular background noise. Both tables and the bar itself have patrons seated with drinks and the occasional meal as well.
Breanna York seems to have abandoned her meal at the bar in order to help Kurgan behind it. Serving up her last order, a pint of Harps, she remains standing at that pocket of conversation and listens to the hottest topic of the day. The upcoming national elections. Riveting stuff.
Alexander pushes open the door, remembering at the last instant that he's not allowed to smoke inside. With the door still open, letting in the air from outside, he plucks his cigarette from his lips and tosses it to the curb, exhaling slowly. Straightening his coat, he moves the rest of the way into the building, letting the door swing shut behind him as he heads towards the bar.
A short, red-headed woman walks into the bar. Her security ID reads "Annabelle Louis". She has a tired, drawn expession and is carrying a rather large stack of file folders and papers with her. She heads in after Alexander, trying to take advantage of the open door Unfortunately, as it swings shut, she trips slightly and her papers and folders are upended and fly everywhere. "Oh, just great," she exclaims, and gets down to try and recapture her paperwork.
Elizabeth walks in after a long day of grading and... stops short. With a sigh, she kneels to help the woman in front of her pick up her papers. She picks up the sheaves of paper with the ease of long practice, squaring them off into neat stacks by tapping them gently against the floor. "Here you go," she says politely, handing a stack over to the woman.
Breanna glances towards the door as she spots the minor people-jam. Fortunately the staff at the pub have been well trained and a nearby server heads over to lend another set of hands.
Alexander was apparently completely oblivious to Annabelle's presence. He turns after the confusion starts, but narrows his eyes when he sees the pileup. Besides - other people have the problem in hand. So he grabs a stoll and the bar and thumps down on it, half turning so he can watch the later arrivals.
Annabelle looks gratefully over to Elizabeth and the server. "Thank you very much," she replies while hurriedly stacking on her own. "Some days, the bear eats you, right?" she asks as she finishes getting the papers together. "I'm Annabelle," she says after standing up again.
Elizabeth inclines her head politely and says, "And I'm Elizabeth. Here, let's get your papers inside and ask the staff if they have any bags you could put them in." She makes as if to lead Annabelle to the bar, but then spots Alex and her course turns into an arc leaving a wide berth around Alex, and only arriving at the far end of the bar from him.
Kurgan heads down the bar to meet up with the new customer. "Good evening," he greets Elizabeth with a smile. "Welcome to Fadó's. Would you like a drink, or perhaps a menu?"
Alexander gives Elizabeth a mocking salute as she veers away from him, and a tooth baring grin before turning to fully face the bar. He digs around in his pocket, pulling out his battered silver lighter, and a handful of wadded up bills and loose change, which he begins sorting through. Once the piles are all in neat order, he folds his hands on the bar and waits, glancing down every now and then at Elizabeth and her newly met aquaintance.
Annabelle says, "I should have thought of that on the way over." She nods her head to Elizabeth, and begins to follow her over to the bar, looking mildly surprised when Elizabeth avoids Alex. Annabelle does not, however, intrude her curiousity in at this time. She lays her stack on a fairly clean section of the bar and looks for the bartender. As he approaches Elizabeth, Annabelle waits for the moment.
Elizabeth smiles up at Kurgan's familiar face and says tiredly, "Just my usual, please. And... would you have a bag for the lady to put her papers in?" She gestures to indicate Annabelle, then settles in to wait for her drink, shooting the occasional glower in Alex's direction.
Alexander just grins widely at Elizabeth when she glowers at him, turning away from her with an innocent whistle. His hands busy themselves with the lighter, idly flicking it open, and then closed again, not igniting it.
Kurgan nods and turns to get a chilled glass from one of the bar fridges. Adding ice and the specific ingredients, he plunks a long straw into the glass as well as a little plastic sword with two maraschino cherries skewered on. Sliding that across to Elizabeth, he reaches under the bar to add a couple of paper bags to the drink. "And for your friend?"
Annabelle takes the paper bags and begins to put the file folders in carefully so they will not spill within. "Thank you again. I would like a Long Island Ice Tea, extra sugar, extra ice, please," she tells Kurgan once she has the materials put away.
Alexander watches the interchange out of the corner of his eyes, ostensibly busy fiddling with his lighter. Finally, he gives up on that little activity, and tucks the lighter in his pocket.
Elizabeth accepts her drink with a smile, holding the paper bags open so that Annabelle can fit her papers in more easily. "Next time you bring your work home from the office, you might want to get something to carry it in," she advises. "So what do you do, anyway?" The tendons in her neck stand out slightly, but she appears otherwise oblivious to Alexander's antics.
Annabelle waits on her own drink and says, "I did not initially think it would be this much. The professor and the coroner kept handing me reports on the way out, though. I might have left it in the car, but I had hoped to get some work done or at least reading while here. I am a criminalistics graduate student. I intern with the coroner." She gives a little smile at that. "The details of my work are not generally good conversation," she finishes.
Kurgan nods and turns for another tall glass. Quickly reaching for the five base liquors, he adds a splash of each to the pile of ice already there before topping it up with soda and a swirl of cola. A slice of lemon and pair of tall straws finish off the drink. "Did you want these on separate tabs, ladies?" the bartender asks. Breanna, meanwhile, remains with the gossiping group of guys down at the other end.
Alexander grunts and hauls his change back into his pockets. One seperate pocket for each denomination of change and bill. Levering himself from his barstool with a grunt, he strolls down the bar towards Elizabeth and Annabelle, hands tucked in pockets and a slightly unpleasant grin on his face.
Elizabeth raises her eyebrows at Annabelle's words. "You're at the university, then?" she asks Annabelle. "I work there, too. I teach economics." She then looks up at Kurgan and says firmly, "Yes, separate tabs, please." At Alex's approach, however, she hunches down in her seat and edges closer to Annabelle.
Annabelle accepts her drink and tells Kurgan, "I would prefer my own bill, yes, please." She turns back to Elizabeth and is beginning to reply. "A professor, then? I am pleased to..." Her voice goes quiet and she asks, "Is something wrong, professor?"
Kurgan adds a couple packets of sugar next to the Long Island before moving off a few feet to enter the orders into the bar's terminal. Once that's complete, he works on polishing clean glasses and tidying up the unoccupied portions of the bar.
Breanna seems to have her visual attention on the other end of the bar where Alexander is going and her audial attention on the conversation at hand.
Alexander leans in, stopping just short of TOO close and murmurs, "Hullo Elizabeth. Didn't expect to find you here..." He chuckles deeply, and leans back again, glancing around. "Yeah - somethin' wrong? Just me, yer old buddy Alex, eh?" He keeps his hands in the pocket of his jacket, most of his attention on the tense woman near him.
Elizabeth flinches away from Alex's looming presence, turning her attention firmly into her drink. "Hello, Alex," she says to the pink liquid, her voice mostly steady. "I wish I could say it was good to see you." A deep breath, and then she says to Annabelle in a tone of forced lightness, "Why, no. Nothing's wrong at all."
Annabelle looks cooly over the unkempt, disreputable-looking man. "I see, professor," she says, still staring at Alex. Despite the fact that she is a mere 5'2", she does not seem overly impressed by his height. She drinks a bit of her long island ice tea and promptly ignores Alexander from that point. "As I was saying, I am glad to meet a professor. Economics is a bit abstracted from my usual studies, but it never hurts to know another potential dissertation committee member, yes?"
Alexander takes another step back from Elizabeth with another of those chuckles. He doesn't seem much bothered by Annabelle's staring, his attention still on Elizabeth. "Good t'hear. I'll let you two chat - and Elizabeth? I'll be seeing you later. But don't look for me. Because you won't see me coming." He turns away, and starts back down the bar.
Breanna saunters down the bar to meet up with Kurgan and converses about various Fadó topics and practices. "Talk about bizarre," she remarks to the full-time bartender. "I don't think I've ever seen someone quite that jumpy before."
Elizabeth is sitting at the far end of the bar, talking with Annabelle. She shudders, and closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens her eyes, she says firmly, "I'm flattered, but it's highly unlikely that I would end up on your dissertation committee, Anabelle. I'm also a mere assistant professor, as I have not yet gotten tenure." She sips at her Shirley Temple.
Zaman strolls into Fado's sporting his usual grin and stepping with his confident gait that isn't quite a swagger. The well dressed man seems to know exactly where he wants to guy, and that's where the guy in the apron is handing out liquor. His gaze sweeps up and down the bar in quick, informative glances. Upon sighting Elizabeth his grin only widens and he detours towards her.
Annabelle keeps herself composed until Alexander has gone a fair distance from Elizabeth and herself, replying, "I see." She gives Elizabeth a smile, still keeping her eyes away from Alexander. "Well, my best wishes on achieving tenure, then," she says, raising her glass. Once Alexander is far enough away, she asks, "Are you certain nothing is wrong, professor?" Concern creeps over her face. "I know a number of police officers, if you are being..." She quiets again when Zaman begins to head towards the professor and herself.
Alexander spots Zachary as the smooth man enters the building. He switches direction, moving to intercept Zachary, plastering a grin on his face that's about as real as Kraft cheese. "Zachary. So -good- to see you. How're yeh?"
Zaman is thusly intercepted, coming to a halt just before Alexander cuts off his view of Elizabeth. The man doesn't miss a beat, however, his grin only brightening as Alexander addresses him. "Ah, Mr. Alexander. Good to see you as well. It's been some time since our paths have crossed; how has life been in the interim? Full excitement, I must assume."
"We get all kinds here," Kurgan replies with a nod towards Elizabeth. "Never seen her quite so antsy, though, that I can recall." "Hmm," Breanna muses and leans a hip against the bar with a hand on the opposite hip as well, still observing.
Elizabeth looks up when Annabelle falls silent and spots Zachary approaching. She musters up a smile and beckons him over to the little cluster at the end of the bar - until Alex moves to intercept. Her beckoning hand drops limply by her side and her face goes flat. Turning back to Annabelle she says carefully, "Thank you for your concern, but Alex can be a very... dangerous man. I believe you would be better off to not do anything that might antagonize him, Annabelle."
Alexander offers Zachary his hand - still smiling in a bright friendly fashion. "Oh, you know how it is. Running here, and running there - a bump and a scrape." He glances over his shoulder at Elizabeth. "Rough negotiations - how's the legal practice?"
Annabelle looks even more concerned. "Professor, I work with the Austin police on a daily basis. I may not handle booking or suspects, but I can take care of myself. More importantly," she says with a bit of a smile disrupting the concern on her face, "I know a number of big, burly men and women who do not take kindly to university personnel or indeed anyone being threatened."
Zaman eyes the hand that Alexander extends, smile dimming slightly. "As much as I would love to indulge in pleasntries, Mr. Alexander, I believe the lady wishes to have a word with me. Some other time, perhaps?" He says apologetically with a shrug of his shoulders as if there's nothing he can do.
Alexander nods to Zachary, tucking the hand back in his coat. "Yeah, sure. Tell 'er I said 'See you soon'." With that, the bum saunters over to the exit, pops open the door and vanishes out onto the street, lighting up as he disappears from view.
Elizabeth frowns, and takes a sip of her drink. "I... It's good to know that you care that much about a relative stranger, Annabelle, but I'm really rather reluctant to get other people involved. Alex is dangerous; I don't think you understand how dangerous he can be. And besides, I provoked him." She looks away from the other woman's eyes, examining the setup behind the bar instead. "He said he was punishing me. Doesn't that mean that I deserved it?"
Annabelle looks inquisitively at Elizabeth. "Deserving punishment is a grave matter," she says, chewing her lower lip somewhat. "It is not a phrase to be handed out lightly," she continues, finishing with, "Unless you did something truly reprehensible to him, I can not contemplate a situation where he would have the right to move outside of the legal system himself." She appears to be very disapproving of this Alex.
"Absolutely not, Elizabeth, don't be foolish." Zaman replies to her as he sits down next to Elizabeth and the other woman. "We already know about Mr. Alexander. He is what we, in uncouth society, might call a prick." The man says with a wide, disarming grin. "So the question you must ask yourself, Elizabeth, is are you ready to cross the Rubicon?" Then his gaze goes to Annabelle, and a hand is extended. "Good evening, young lady. My name is Zachary, Zachary Andrew Mann."
Elizabeth scoots her stool over to make room for Zachary, and proceeds to make the introductions. "Annabelle, Zachary is a lawyer and a most fascinating conversationalist. Zachary, Annabelle is a graduate student at the University studying... criminology, was it? I'm sure you two can find at least one topic of common interest in criminal law." She directs a glance at Zachary and says, "Perhaps discussions of the Rubicon are best left to other venues, Zachary. You know how I dislike discussions of classical Rome." She smiles.
Kurgan heads down towards the trio at the end of the bar again. "Could I interest you in a drink or meal, sir?" the bartender asks Zachary. Breanna, meanwhile, nods at Kurgan's observation before heading towards the exit of the bar.
Annabelle extends her hand to Zachary and shakes firmly. "Annabelle Louis, Mr. Mann. Charmed," she tells him. "Criminalistics, actually. It is a combination major covering forensic science, psychology, and the legal aspects of criminal behavior. I would be honored to speak to you further on the subject, of course, now that that unpleasant individual has left."
"Very well, Elizabeth. Just remember that the clock is ticking; Mr. Alexander has reminded you that he will see you soon, and that is a very dangerous proposition. I would avoid being alone tonight, if I were you. I can accompany you to your home, if you'd like. While I cannot be certain I don't think he'll bother the both of us." Zaman says to Elizabeth after releasing Annabelle's hand and settling back into place he turns to the bartender with a slight nod of his head. "Yes, ah, I'll have what she's having." The lawyer indicates Elizabeth's drink and raises his gaze to Annabelle. "Criminalistics? What field are you intending to apply all of that knowledge to? Sounds a little overqualified to get into my profession. We're just smoke and mirrors."
Annabelle suddenly takes her hand back and grapples for her purse. She fishes through it and pulls out a pager, which she checks. "I thought my work was done for the day. I should have turned this off, not set it to vibrate. The department needs me back in. My apologies, Mr. Mann, Professor. I must run back to the office. Good evening." She pushes the pager back into the purse and gathers her things before leaving.
"Yes, thank you, Zachary. Please, do escort me when I leave, if you would be so kind," Elizabeth says with a smile. "I would greatly appreciate your company." At Zachary's order she looks up at him, bemused, and warns, "I'm having a Shirley Temple, Zachary. That's a non-alcoholic beverage; you may wish to reconsider."
Kurgan waits, faintly amused, for any change in orders. He isn't going to complain -- it's his job, after all. "Since the rush seems to have passed, I'm going to head on out, Kurgan," Breanna calls from the other end of the bar. He raises a hand in a silent farewell as the woman walks towards the back hall of the building.
Zaman hmms, making a motion as if he were stroking some none existent beard. "Yes, and it would be a grievous blow to my manhood to drink something named after Little Orphan Annie, though this could bring me closer to the Daddy Warbucks, and who wouldn't want to be the heir to a rich bald man?" The lawyer muses, then nods firmly. "A Shirly Temple it is, but only for the money, understand?" Now he's pointing at the bartender with a grin on his features.
Elizabeth is finally coaxed into laughter. "My, but you can be charming when you put your mind to it, Zachary! Tell me, how has life been treating you?" She lifts her glass into the air, giving it a considering once-over before taking a deliberate sip. "And do you think that this drink brings me closer to money, then?"
Another Shirley Temple is made with efficient movements, soon topped with a pair of cherries on a plastic sword and a pair of straws. "Enjoy," Kurgan remarks before turning towards Elizabeth. "Unfortunately it seems as though your newfound friend forgot to cover her drink. I'll print off a separate receipt for you, ma'am, but will have to request that you square it off. Business and all, y'know?"
Zaman shrugs at Elizabeth. "It's certainly possible. You're closer than I am, seeing as how you are of the female persuasion." He turns to where Annabelle skipped out, taking hold of his glass absently. "No need, Elizabeth. I owe a debt to any brave soul willing to go into criminalistics, those are the kind of people I need on the stand. Besides, I'm loaded." He says with a slight chuckle, taking a draught from the Temple. "Things have been well, not so much free time but that translates to sucesses elsewhere. Anything new on your end? Given the attitude of Mr. Alexander I would say yes."
Elizabeth sighs and nods to Kurgan. "I understand. I'll cover it, and if necessary have a few words with-- Why, thank you, Zachary!" She looks pleasantly surprised. "How generous of you. As for my dealings with Mister Alexander, well... you heard him. No new bruises since last time, but he's been making vague and ominous threats." She scowls into her drink. "I think he's enjoying this, trying to make me nervous."
"Which is consistent with what we thought earlier, isn't it?" Zaman replies to Elizabeth with a glance in her direction, taking a sip from his Shirley Temple. "If we can predict him, he's not a threat. If he steps over the line, we'll call the police and send him away for a long time. We can get him help that way. There's no reason to fear him yet, or to even be nervous. He simply is; and his feeble attempts at shaking us are going to be his undoing."
Kurgan nods at the pair's response to the unexpected charge. Pleased that it went well, the bartender moves off to serve other customers down the line.
Elizabeth shoots at direct glance at Zachary over the top of her glass and says quietly, "Really, Zachary, do you think that I'm half so frightened as I'm acting? Think of it as... laying the groundwork. I'm smaller than he is, and female. I'm establishing a history of being frightened of him, and he's been obliging enough to threaten me in front of witnesses. Do I need to spell everything out for you?"
"I was wondering when you'd start actually talking to me." Zaman turns away, taking a longer drink this time. "And you're doing a splendid job. I'm very pleased, very pleased with how this is going. Build him up, Elizabeth, think of me as the little voice buzzing in your ear, because everyone needs a third party to keep them honest and on the right track. And no, you don't need to spell things out for me. I'm not omniscient so whatever experiences you've had with him while I'm not around I am unaware of. But eventually you have to move. The build up is nothing without the catastrophic release."
"That, I don't know how to trigger, Zachary," Elizabeth says. "At least not without bringing it down on myself, and I'm not mad enough at him to die to get my revenge. He's a very dangerous man, and if he's not holding back at all..." She shudders. "If he's going to blow up at some third party, someone is going to have to set him off. Can you help with that, Zachary? Or are you useless, other than the cheerleading?"
"This is not something we can plan, unfortunately." Zaman concedes with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "I am not as useful as I might have been, but that's neither here nor there. We will have to wait and watch; for a scene of tension. When it comes, I have confidence that we can push some hapless fellow in the way of Mr. Alexander and then let fate take its course. Let him come to terms with the desires you've been building up inside of him. He will lash out at anything or anyone."
Elizabeth sneers. "And here I had thought you were a player, Zachary Mann. Your faith in fate is... no, not touching. Naive. Let me tell you something; players don't need to 'have confidence' that something will come up. Players make things happen. Pawns wait for things to happen to them. If you don't have the edge I need to trigger Mr. Alexander at will, at a target of /my/ choosing, then find me someone who does. Or two, or three; however many it takes. If you can't even do that for me, then you're useless to me." She takes a sip of her drink with studied nonchalance and arches her eyebrows.
"We can't control everything." Zaman replies with perfect calm. "The person who tries is a fool. That's part of the fun, you see, making a good situation out of what fate deals you. I believe we can make fate, but it is not a process of snapping my fingers and making someone dance. It is long. It is slow. It requires precision and patience, a quality I suggest you adopt. I am not your servant in this, Elizabeth, so don't presume to treat me like one. I do this for my own interests, because I see in Mr. Alexander a challenge. If you mistep, do you think I will shed a tear? The truth of the matter is that there are more forces at work here than just you and me. We must gauge these forces and then proceed. If we could create the scenario then that would be ideal; but to do this we must take into account the circumstances of our environment and then work with them. Part of the game is playing under pressure; when there's not much time and things have to fall in place perfectly. If you can engineer the scenario, then you've won. But that presents its own pitfalls. Make your choice, Elizabeth, it's not me he's threatening. He knows better than that."
"You're weaseling," Elizabeth observes calmly. "You claim that you do this for your own interests, but you have yet to lift a finger. You have done nothing other than to encourage me in my own pursuits. If Mr. Alexander's downfall is indeed in your own interests, then it should be worth a little effort to increase the probability of success. I tell you that one of the required elements of my scenario is a trigger. If you cannot provide it yourself, then put me in touch with someone who can. I know that a man in your profession will have the contacts necessary to do all manner of interesting things."
"When did I say I wouldn't be there?" Zaman replies with a grin, "You're missing the whole point of this, how can I derive any benefit from this if I sit back when the time comes? I won't apologize for my role thusfar, testing the water is an integral part of this plan. You are example of fate presenting itself; I might have had to ally myself with my...contacts, as you say, and that would've been a disaster. I can be the trigger, most certainly, I never said that I would not whisper in his ear and make his blood boil. I have simply advocated vigiliance, we must be wary for when it is time to strike."
Elizabeth smiles faintly. "And just how do you propose to make his blood boil, Zachary? What poisoned words will you whisper in his ear that will both trigger his wrath and guide it along the correct channels?" She pauses a moment, then adds as an afterthought, "For that matter, why would alliance with your contacts be so disastrous? Are they that inept, or do they just hate you enough to backstab you?"
"I'm fairly certain that I am the third party that you would direct his anger at, so my contacts backstabbing me isn't a big concern." Zaman shrugs with a sly smile. "Two birds with one stone, right? Neither of us would blink if the other was wiped away forever. Yet I will take that chance because the others are inept. They are crude. They have no subtlety about them, no challenge. What words will I use? They will have to come to me when I see the situation. Playing under pressure is what it's all about. Certainty when you are uncertain."
Elizabeth puts one hand to her bosom, and affects a wounded look. "Moi?" she asks archly. "How could you ever think that I would direct Mr. Alexander's wrath at you, my dear Zachary. You should know better than that. I'm far too clever to waste a good wrath outpouring on you if you were to provide me with a sufficiently preferable target." She smiles like a shark. "Regardless of my feelings towards you, it would be poor play for me to pass up a juicier target. So whyever haven't you thought about providing me with one?"
"We can play our games all day long, and I hope that we do, but I have enough respect for you not to be a fool and presume that alliances and friendships really exists. This is an opportunistic world; and we are all just waiting for our chance. In the end, we are all targets." The fact isn't sobering to Zaman at all, in fact it seems to excite him. "It's not my job to present targets. That would imply I am your servant, feeding you your next meal. If I assume this role it is because I understand what it is and why I am doing it. You determine their priority, and you seem to have chosen Mr. Alexander or myself. One as a means to destroy the other. Very clever indeed."
"You're playing the fool, Zachary," Elizabeth says casually. "It ill becomes you. I look further ahead than merely plotting at the downfall of yourself or Mr. Alexander, and I suspect that you know it. It is in your best interests to ensure that I find other targets more appealing than yourself, especially since I expect this game to continue for several iterations - and I rather suspect that you are clever enough to survive as well. This talk of servants is a smokescreen; you're not one let to false pride prick you to folly. For some reason you prefer not to direct my play at other targets, but you wish to conceal your true motive from me, so you talk about not being a servant."
Zaman chuckles, rising and digging out enough green to cover himself and Annabelle with a generous tip. "Don't presume to threaten me, Elizabeth. I've faced worse than whatever wrath you can dish out, I assure you. Think what you will of me; but we have a similar goal at this time so we should pursue it. Have a nice walk home, Elizabeth, I'm sure our paths will cross again." Then he turns away, pocketing his hands and walking with the same undimmed confidence towards the door.
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