[ May 18, 2091. It's been a busy morning for the group, since it started at, oh... 2am or thereabouts and almost resulted in the destruction of a very large city. Said potential destruction is likely weighing on the mind of many, but for Calhoun employee Soma McLochlane, the only concern he has is having a really nice, long, hot shower, the benefit of which he's been without for some time now. ] [ Currently, the sound of running water (and not much else) from the bathroom in Kat's apartment is an indicator that he is, at last, getting his wish. ] (No Top 40s wafting from the shower?) (He is not a singer.) (You may interrupt at your leisure.) * Zak opens the door of the bathroom, silently. He closes it, looks at the knob, and locks it. * Soma did not get to be in his position by being totally unobservant, but shower curtains of even light opacity and running water - plus the feeling of having a shower for the first time in a while - dulls the senses somewhat.fs Behind the shower curtain, the shape of his head twists a little bit toward the door. * Zak looks at the door for a second, then proceeds to coat it thoroughly in a thick layer of ice. * Soma either hears the cracking of the ice (consider: humid warm room), senses a difference in the air, or *something*; it makes him pull the curtain back far enough to poke his head out only, and the scene he sees gets... at the very least, a raised eyebrow. "I can't WAIT to hear the explanation for this." * Zak eyes his handiwork critically for a moment, perhaps assessing the structural capacity. Then he turns to look at Soma. "We have to talk. Alone." * Soma raises an eyebrow. "Well, at least you're not jumping right to the..." He pauses, taking another glance at Zak's face, and decides not to finish that. "Alright... I guess now's as good a time as any." Reaching out, he snags a towel and yanks it in with him; a few seconds later he emerges, towel around his waist. The water he leaves on, however. * Zak looks, compared to his usual self, like his face has been plaster-cast. There's a solidity, a lack of expression, which even Soma could probably sense. "Earlier, you said you'd skim in teams to Twilight. Calhoun boys, to help find whatever that shazbot bitch did it to it." * Soma has his arms folded in front of his stomach; the chest is too high if that towel decides to go anywhere, and even then he forestalls problems entirely by sitting on the edge of the shower. "Well, I can try. To be honest I'm fairly sure CEC wouldn't mind if Twilight vanished overnight, but we don't condone mass murder as a company policy, by and large." * Zak looks behind him, then sits on the toilet. "What's the brass tacks? What would CEC want out of the deal?" * Soma wears a very clear 'are you crazy?' expression. "Uh... a lot of people not dying?" is his first suggestion, followed by a slight shrug. "Thwarting Platina's evil scheme? I wouldn't be sure until I spoke to someone with the company." * Zak frowns. "Look, TC's turning a corner. Improving. There's a lot of corp wizards out there who want a piece of it. They want to be the solo rebound fling, wind up with fingers everywhere." His gaze flicks down to his tattoo and back. "Can't let that happen. You want to help, I need promises. Or ink on paper." * Soma smirks a little bit. "Wanting something for nothing... I guess under all of that you really ARE a philanthropist." * Zak runs his fingers through his hair, icing it up again since it had started to droop due to all the steam. "Man, I didn't say nothing. TC's got lots of ... intellectual capital. We'll pay. I just don't want your bosses thinking this goes beyond the here and now." (I'm sorry, Zak must appear truly insane to Soma right now.) (Well Soma probably doesn't get that he's the mayor. Zak kind of forgot to mention it.) (I think he knows that Zak is the nominal head of the 'guys, QUIT IT' faction) (But as for what any corp thinks of TC? He's in corporate espionage, what does he know?) (Yeah, but it's hm or Yue, and I'd prefer sentences with verbs and everything.) * Soma really does look at Zak like he's made of wax and melting. "Look, I don't have anything against Twilight per se, but forgive me if I don't have a lot of faith in its long-term earning potential," he says, trying to use his 'plain dealer' voice. "Besides, it's not like I'm an exec. I haven't even been with CEC that long. You're talking to the wrong guy." (Yue's a merc, technically, anyway.) (Also, I have found the BGM for this scene.) (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAEX-Dqc-LA&fmt=18) Yeah, yeah. Everyone thinks I'm locospaz. Doesn't matter. TC's gonna make its own way in the long run, grok? Just tell your bosses we'll pay, but only in credits. (The first thing I thought of after you said that was the classic stripper music. The second was the Blanks singing The Full Monty. Neither seems quite correct.) * Soma chuckles. "If you've got the money, why not just hire non-corporate help?" He sounds like he knows the answer already, in the way he asks the question. 'Cause you offered. I just needed to make sure you were doin' it because you cared, not because you wanted a foot in the door. * Zak looks down. "And you know we'd null-up tryin' to find anyone else to come into the place." * Soma appears to give that a moment or two of thought, before he stands up, then turns around and turns off the water in the shower before turning back to Zak. "Between you and me, Krogstad? I'd love it if they paved that place and put in Mars' largest Pragmatic Grille. But I don't like Platina's methods..." * Soma frowns a bit. "And I don't like the idea of a lot of people with nothing to do with dying because of whatever fucked up science she and Ferrion are cooking up at DRAUPNIR." (The first part of that second sentence got a little mauled somehow. The intent got through, I assume.) * Zak looks back up at Soma. "... Thanks." He doesn't sound sarcastic, but it's not exactly warm either. He stands up and eyes the door, whose ice is rapidly melting. "Go ahead and call your boss whenever you get out. I'll let my posse know they're coming." * Soma digests that. He wouldn't admit it to Zak, but Soma himself knows people to call... and not all of them are CEC employees, either. "If I were in your position I'd be thinking the same things, Krogstad," he admits, adjusting his towel a little bit. "I don't blame you for being suspicious. I sure as fuck would be." (He's Maggie's great grandkid, alright.) (Also: WORLD'S LARGEST PRAGMATIC GRILLE. Think it over.) (He'd have to start selling furniture. Like an Ikea only backwards.) (I just imagine Prag floating at the crest of Olympus Mons like some sort of round, shiny silver Buddha.) (Surveying his empire.) (Until he goes mad.) * Zak puts his hand on the knob and unlocks it, then pauses. He doesn't look back at Soma, but he actually smiles, and you can hear it in his voice when he says, "Twilight's gonna bounce back. We'll do it.... wait and see." * Soma smiles faintly. In spite of himself, he likes this nutjob. "If it does," the CEC corp-spy drawls, "I will be the first to get blasted off my ass in one of the finer get-blasted-off-your-ass establishments." (I am imagining RIGHTY and LEFTY as TC emgirés to work in their bars) * Zak opens the door. "I'll buy the first round." He walks out and leaves Soma to his ablutions. (They would make a good addition. They'd have to bring the oven cleaner.) (That seems like as good a place to end as any, BTW) [ And so did Zak get in his moment of conversation, and lay out his terms! A potential friendship was formed! Look for the slashfic version of this mini soon! MINI END.]