overjoyed_logs | Pre-Game catchall stuff

[....did the high-standing Company executive just apologise? To him?

There's an overlong moment of silence as Giovanni digests this, swallows it down, eyes slightly narrowed and expression showing the slightest signs of confusion before it bleeds out again onto that perfect blankness from moments before. Well, this is different. Unexpected, and it's this unexpectedness that leaves him feeling vaguely discomforted, this deviation from the usual script of how these kinds of assignments tend to go. He's had the occasional instance of someone deigning to act almost friendly with him, a pretense at shared humanity as a way to ally fear over what they've allowed into their personal space, or perhaps even as an attempt to assuage their guilt over what he is, what the Company has made of him. Nothing genuine, he's sure. An apology, though-- this is a first.

It's only a matter of seconds before he recovers his professional poise, shakes his head.]

Security detail. You're in need of a bodyguard.

[Outside of that, he hasn't the faintest idea. Why you requested him specifically eludes him entirely, something he chalks up to his excellent track record and little else.]

Yes, that is...what I told them. Yup. I'm gonna be heading down to Westerly and that's basically the entire reason I need you by itself huh? Ahah...haaa. [ Gio that was funny it was a joke, why aren't you laughing??? Like whats' funnier than Westerly being utter shit come on.

Rhys clears his throat. ]

So yeah. I figured we could chat before all that? Get to know each other and stuff before I trust you to guard my life and all that. [ Because that's normal. One hundred percent, nothing odd about it at all. ]

[You realise he's based in Westerley, right? It's where the Kennel is situated, because there's no way in hell they would have got clearance to house a whole unit of potentially unstable bioweapons anywhere nice. Besides, he kind of likes it there. Or perhaps like isn't the right word-- accustomed to it, at ease. It'd be a bit of a stretch to call anywhere home, but it's the closest thing to it.

So no, he doesn't laugh, instead continues to wonder what exactly is going on here, whether this person is entirely all there or whether they have some motive he's yet to discern because really--]

Get to know each other.

[He says it flatly, uncomprehending, until something seems to click into place, and--]

If it's my track record you're inquiring about, I assure you there's no need for concern. I haven't turned on anyone, yet.

[A small smile slices across his face, though whether it's intended to be reassuring or something else is anyone's guess.]

[ Look if he's going to have an escort they're going to be with him the whole way, he doesn't want to meet someone there when he could have them at his side on the way there to entertain and talk with him. Because that's...pretty much what his asking for Giovanni amounts to at the moment. He saw they had something in common and made this whole trip up just for the express purpose of talking to him. ]

What? No, I...why would you turn on me? I like, basically own you or whatever if you're Company property. Or well. You know what I mean. You work for me? But that's--look that's not why I called for you or anything like that. [ Excuse Rhys's lack of moral compass when it comes to anything, it's pretty much entirely directed by whether he likes you or not. ]

I wanted to talk about Hands--Jack. Just. Jack. [ He is not calling him "handsome" because that's dumb and not at all true. ] That guy, you know? On Westerly.

[ "That guy on Westerly named Jack." Rhys is the master of distinguishing people from their peers. ]

Edited 2017-01-13 08:52 (UTC)

[There's no need for him to dress it up or phrase it politely because yes technically Giovanni does belong to him, in a way, all the more so because of his bloodlines, his lofty position (even if it is a made up position). He accepts it down to the centre of him, knows it utterly, and yet the smile quickly dissipates from his face at the reminder, replaced with a blank empty smoothness. Was it an admonishment of sorts, to remind him of that? A warning against acting with anything less than perfect formality? He takes it as such, straightens, because the alternative seems too strange a thing. That this person requested a Dog without giving due consideration to the potential risks involved is surely an impossibility.

And so he's standing there straight and silent and stoic when the next part comes, the fractured mention of a certain name and yes, Rhys cuts it off before he finishes saying it, but there's enough there to send a jolt of recognition down his Spine something hot and dark welling up in him, a fast-burning hate. If Rhys is paying close attention, he might see it-- the subtle shift in his demeanour, the hardening of the angles of his face, something flinty about the eyes. Of all the people he had to bring up, why that one?

Carefully, his voice kept level and calm despite the slight hardness around it's edges, he repeats--]

You want to talk about Mr Marten.

[He won't call him Handsome Jack either, and no-one can make him. Or well, they probably could, but lucky for him no-one has ever insisted or corrected him.]

[ It's okay for now. Rhys doesn't want to call Jack "Handsome" either if he can help, and no matter true or not that statement may be. He tries not to think about it. Or Jack. Except in moments like this where he's intending to thoroughly complain about him. ]

Yeah, that guy. You know him right? It says so in your...file.

[ Rhys's heterochromatic eyes aren't all that strange when you get through all the inbreeding to keep the Nine bloodlines pure. But that he'd willingly had one removed and replaced by a cybernetic one illegally and in secret? That's...yeah. That's not something he's big on publicizing. And Giovanni is technically a subordinate and Rhys has no need to fill him in on the fine details. The eye remains deactivated for now. ]

Edited 2017-01-16 09:45 (UTC)

[A slight canine tilt of the head, the briefest look of...something...passing over his face before it absolves itself back into smooth indifference once again.]

It does?

[The tone of his voice comes off a little more uncertain than he'd like, but it's almost a surprise, that his 'file' would mention such a thing. Almost, because it's true he's had dealings with Jack that extend beyond his inherent dislike. Dealings of a more professional nature, and for the moment he assumes that's what this is about, though how it's relevant to a basic security job, he can't quite ascertain. Not yet.

That Rhys may have obtained this information through a less than traditional means never passes his mind. He is, as Rhys has surmised, just a subordinate after all. It's not his place to question it.

When he speaks again, it's with the slick professionalism he'd begun with.]

Yes. I know him. Sir.

[ To which Rhys responds with the utmost familiarity, snorting. ]

Gods, I am so sorry. That's a total dick am I right? Like just talking to him is like saying "shoot me~", ahahah. You know what I mean.

[ Illusion of vague professionalism gone. Rhys just tossed it right out the window with a short, brief laugh and a bunch of casual words. Which isn't actually strange to him? Being catty and two-faced, talking behind each other's backs...that's completely normal among the elite. It's practically how they conduct all their business with one another. Put on a smile and a pretty face, greet them cordially, and then talk about them the moment their back is turned.

It's totally normal. ]

[...which catches him so off-guard that for a moment he just stands there, saying nothing at all. Perhaps it's totally normal among the elite, something they all do with practiced ease, but not for something like him. And yes he'll be slippery and snide when he knows he can get away with it, rolls his eyes and smiles his cutting smile behind the backs of those who seem clueless or useless or undeserving, but this is something unexpected. This man is blood of the nine, too far above him for familiarity, and despite the casual ease of his bitching Giovanni can't help feeling unbalanced by it, suspicious.

Does he want to trip him up into saying something he shouldn't? Did Jack himself orchestrate this somehow? Because he agrees, utterly, but it's not something he's ever admitted out loud. The pause stretches on for far too long and finally he realises he ought to break it before this Company executive becomes displeased.]

I...

[Smooth. He tries again.]

I'm not sure I understand.

Wait really? I mean, which part? I thought it was pretty straightforward... [ Rhys falters for just a moment because he is used to people just falling into step when it comes to illustrating someone's less than appealing traits. It's a social skill one in his position picks up from an early age and he really doesn't see why Giovanni's having a hard time with this as he lift a brow. ]

Jack's an ass. It isn't...hard to follow, or anything.

[Again, he isn't sure what to say or do or how to react, and it takes all the restraint in him to prevent his eyes from straying back to the door, in search of some kind of escape route. This isn't how he'd thought this particular assignment would go and as such he feels unmoored, cut adrift. Concerned.

But he's being spoken to (albeit with too much familiarity) and so he should answer, shouldn't he? His voice, when it comes, is perfectly measured. careful. A little suspicious.]

What I mean is...I don't see what this has to do with me. Why you're saying this to me. Sir. I'm just your guard dog for the day. I'm not...my opinion is irrelevant.

Whaaaat? Since when? I mean someone thought it was important enough to put in your file. It's written right here--"dislikes Handso"--eugh, "dislikes Jack." [ God he almost slipped up and used that dumb moniker for the guy. That would have been embarrassing, Company Dog or not. ]

And I mean, I can't say I disagree with you there or anything. That guy is a serious piece of work.

[This information, it shocks him. He'd thought he'd been so careful, so cautious, has never outwardly expressed his bone-deep dislike for the man who'd stolen the one good thing he'd ever had out from under the Company's nose and released it into the warrens of Westerley. Not that he has solid evidence, but he knows all the same, is sure of it down to the core of himself and if he only had some kind of proof he could possibly get permission to eliminate Jack, or at least have him thrown into the facility he now presides over.

But if it's on his 'file'. then someone must know. Someone must have noticed. It unsettles him enough that he stumbles awkwardly over his words. Doesn't deny it.]

Well I...it says that? I don't...well. I'm not especially fond of him, no...

I don't know who would be to be honest. His ego needs a serious check. [ If Rhys notices Giovanni's slip-up or trepidation he doesn't acknowledge it. What's more important to him is having someone to gripe about the man with after having to sufer through his aid and company. He deserves a medal for it really.

That guy loves the sound of his own voice. ]

[He takes a moment to steady himself, breathe in, breathe out, onetwo, and the situation still bemuses him but at least he's able to reassert something akin to self-control. There's plenty he could say about Jack, a wealth of bad feelings that have only thickened and spiked throughout the years, become something infinitely more potent. A desire to riptearmaim held in check only by the loyalty to the Company that's been branded down into his very bones, prevents him from acting on impulses he ought not to have at all.

And so he regains himself a little, tries to think of what best to say.]

I suppose so.

[A pause, and then--]

Is there any particular reason you wanted to bring this up with me, Sir?

Yyy...eah? I mean, we're ding it right now? Sorta. I mean I'm complaining about him but you're being pretty polite about the whole thing which is weird. The guy's an ass. You can call him that you know.

[ He doesn't understand why Giovanni isn't just jumping at the chance to gab about how irritating and attractive and smug Jack is. Isn't this what people do? Complain about their bosses? Or higher-working officials? Not that Rhys would know all that well since he's never had to work before he decided on it. He just griped about whoever had particularly offended that day automatically. ]

[Look, for a start, he can see nothing attractive about Jack?? Just as well Rhys chooses not to say that part aloud or Giovanni would only be further confused. He doesn't though, and whilst this whole exchange is confusing and disconcerting and completely out of the ordinary, a slow realisation is beginning to creep over him, the thought that Rhys isn't trying to catch him out at all.

He's silent for a further few moments, observes his superior carefully, looking for small indications that this is some kind of unconventional ruse. There's nothing about his bearing the speaks of deception, however, nothing in the scent of him to suggest a spike in anxiety that might reveal an attempt to lie. And so, very carefully, he says--]

...you want me to complain about him. Because you don't like him.

[a pause, and then with equal care.]

It's not my place to talk about my superiors in such a way, you realise.

Whaaaat? Pff, that's n...that's totally not what I...I mean, there's a really good reason for. For....

[ Rhys tries to scoff out a retort but he more or less just flusters about with all that, and ultimately just lets his shoulders slump. ]

Yeah no that's totally it. But come on! Look forget about those others guys alright, I'm Kendry. No one's gonna bug you about it unless I tell them to. And I have had to deal with that guy way too much not to complain about him alright?

You've gotta have something to say about him.

[He watches as the attempt to lie unravels, gives way to slumping shoulders and an admittance of the truth. And it is the truth, he thinks, as this exchange continues. This man really does just want him to complain about Jack because he, himself, will get something out of venting.

And Rhys is right, after all. He is Kendry, and as such Giovanni observes him carefully for a further few moments before finally he shrugs. He's blood of the Nine, and if he wants something from him, even something as strange and obscure as this, then really it's Giovanni's duty to give it to him. He knows to whom he belongs.]

All right.

[He takes a breath, tilts his head, considering what to say. He doesn't want to allow anything personal to bleed over into this, to give too much of himself away, but there are things that can be said about Jack without straying into that territory.]

He's obnoxious and smug and self-satisfied. I can't stand him. Every time he opens his mouth I think about how much fun it'd be to smash his head through a wall.

[Too much?]

[ The wall-smashing bit maybe? But Rhys actually agrees with pretty much everything else that's there! So that's a bonus right? He's only going to blink a little bit before nodding and gesturing with his hands. ]

Yeah, exactly! I mean...except that last part. But that's what a I mean! He's so...urgh, frustrating. Like he isn't even anyone important but he goes around acting like he's the greatest thing since ever, that I should be grateful for having met him or something.

[ Technically for Jack helping him out of an almost-mugging, but that's a tiny, technical detail. Definitely not relevant to his complaining at all. ]

[But the last part was the best bit... :{

By his sides his trigger fingers twitch just once, but he makes a mental note to keep a lid on the overt expressions of violence. It's not so very strange to discover that someone in Rhys' position has delicate sensibilities, though why, then, he chose Giovanni for this particular exchange remains something of a mystery.

No matter.

He says nothing of it. Demonstrates his agreement with a perfunctory nod. Never mind that Jack is of higher standing than Giovanni himself-- it goes without saying, when he only ranks slightly above a gun or sword in terms of importance within the Company.]

He does that, yes. Yet somehow manages to get himself involved with people who're far too good for him.

[Okay that part might have been a tad personal, but Giovanni says it in such a smooth, flat voice that it's probably impossible to discern that he has someone specific in mind when he says this. Why Professor Einsturzen (MotherMotherMother) ever had anything to do with him is just another of those things that Giovanni can't begin to fathom.]

[ It's a side-effect of Jack opening his mouth. After long enough you can almost forget what an ass and how annoying he is. Almost. Rhys isn't anywhere near that stage yet but he could probably see how someone else might be moved by that stupidly charming smile of his and a few well-timed lines.

He talks a good talk. For a Westie. ]

He's definitely spread more widely in the Quad than I thought he'd be. Turns out he's kind of infamous? And a lot of people know him. Which of course he loooves. [ Rhys rolls his eyes hard, scoffing. ] Guy loves the attention.

Clearly.

[Giovanni's face creases in an obvious expression of displeasure. Why bother to hide it, after all, if it's what his superior is asking for?]

But perhaps we'll get lucky eventually and the order will go out to dispose of him.

[It's something he hopes for, and that he'll be the one who gets to do it.]

He's got to screw up pretty majorly for that to happen though. Changing his Company name from "Jack" to "Handsome" isn't enough to get rid of him. [ Unfortunately. If anything it's probably funny to anyone who hasn't had to deal with him yet. Lord knows Rhys would have found it hilarious if he hadn't had the misfortune of meeting the man. ]

We tend to be fond of the loyal ones and he's...pretty loyal, I guess. I mean he's not a first-genner or anything, so that's brownie points.

You're right, of course. It would need to be something significant. Theft of dangerous and expensive Company equipment, for example.

[Again, the smooth flat voice that indicates he's just pulling examples out of thin air, nothing to suggest he's using a concrete example of something he's certain has happened. Should the Company ever discover that it was Jack who stole one of the Cerberus Units and released it among the general population, Giovanni suspects his moment will come. That he may, if he's lucky, even get to do the honour of dispatching him.

But he has no evidence, only his word and his suspicions, and no-one would take his word over that of a higher-standing employee, one who's actually recognised as an autonomous person. And so he'll say nothing of it. It'd only be making trouble for himself.]

But alas. I suppose, for now, we'll just have to put up with him.

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