candothat: (In control)
Chekov, Pavel Andreievich ([personal profile] candothat) wrote in [community profile] poly_chromatic2013-01-24 11:17 am

audio;

[Filtered to the Deities]

If I may discuss yet another exchange with you, please, I would be grateful.
 

[Public]

It is nice to have the City quiet again, but yesterday was too quiet. Why are people so reckless about what they lick?

[City: don't answer that question.]

The snow is good. It reminds me of home, but warmer, and with more sun. If we were in Petersburg, there would be less than eight hours of daylight today, and we would likely not see the sun for the clouds. The temperature would be maybe twenty below, Celsius, without wind--possibly colder. I think the Neva would be frozen by now.

This is March, April weather. Anyone who is cold now should be glad that the City is so mild.
mortemscintilla: ♥ Fold 'em, let 'em, hit me, raise it, baby, stay with me (Li - Harmless 2 (Eh?))

video;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 01:21 am (UTC)(link)
Less than eight hours? That's --

Wouldn't it feel a little gloomy?
mortemscintilla: ∅  And puts a gun up to my head (Hei/Li - Mask Slipping)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 03:06 am (UTC)(link)
[ He notes, briefly, that Pavel takes the time to switch to a private line. This doesn't seem to be a prank. This is serious. ]

[ Very serious. ]

[ For a moment, his eyes widen. But it's conditioned reflex. He still in 'Li's frame of mind -- honest and helpful. The pleasant expression fades a beat later, replaced by permafrosted focus. ]


I see.

[ Perfect monotone. He's waiting for the other shoe to drop. Recriminations. Blackmail. Revenge. It's not often that he's been confronted by any of his own victims. Usually, he kills them. He should've taken greater precautions here. This is what he gets for being soft-hearted and careless. ]
mortemscintilla: ∅  If you're alive at thirty-three (Hei - Steely)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 03:33 am (UTC)(link)
[ He could respond with either silence or obscurantism. He doesn't owe Pavel his reasons for protecting his cover. It wasn't personal. It was self-preservation. He's gotten used to the lack of empathy, the self-interest. Even the hollowed-out sensation he feels right now is just a gut reaction. A release of tension brought on by unpredictability. ]

[ He says, only, ]


It was a matter of business. Making sure what was personal stayed personal.
mortemscintilla: ∅  I've got a tongue like a razor (Hei - Watchful/Srs)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ Indignation is hardly something he'd blame Pavel for. In his trade, Hei's been betrayed enough times. Professionally. Personally. But in each case, he'd taken the cold and systematic route. He'd perfected a plan. He'd laid out an agenda. He'd made sure that treacherous element could never play in repeat. ]

[ That's how he functions. An eye for an eye. But he doesn't know what Pavel plans to do. ]


What do you want me to say? [ No vitriol. Just dullness. ] You want a simple answer. A simple motivation. And there is never one reason.

[ He can't say it was always business. It wasn't. But he wouldn't call them friends either. He doesn't make friends. Just assets to collect and use. ]
mortemscintilla: ∅ Until we close our eyes for good (Hei - Dead Eyes)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 04:48 am (UTC)(link)
[ Buried -- for now. But anger is a volatile ingredient. It can flare at any time, unpredictable and illogical. Just when you think you've let it go, it resurges with blinding force. That, at least, is Hei's outlook. Based on experience and observation. Pavel may not be vindictive by nature. But Hei knows the danger of ruling out anything as an impossibility. ]

[ His expression remains in cold stasis. But at the back of his mind, deja vu sparks. This is like his confrontation with Nick, back at PANDORA. No politics or deadly infiltration here. But the theme is similar. No matter where you go, you'll never be free of your old life. ]


There was no guarantee you wouldn't have told others. Even if you'd agreed to keep it a secret. The right curse, the right questions -- and a nosy stranger could know everything. I couldn't risk that.

[ I'm sorry, he doesn't say. You were better off not knowing, he doesn't say. Discretion is the most useful skill you can learn in this line of work. But nothing prepares you for moments like this. ]
Edited (gdi typos Dx) 2013-01-25 04:53 (UTC)
mortemscintilla: ∅ Money don't grow on trees (Hei - Eyes Of The Dead)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 05:32 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hei likes to pretend Li doesn't exist. That he's camouflage to achieve a goal. But that's oversimplification. Every structure, even illusory, has a backbone of reality. Everything is made of layers. In many ways, 'Li' is one of Hei's layers -- minus the clumsiness and fluff. But in a profession of daily violence, he's grown so diluted, shrunken into something so tiny, that he's invisible most of the time. ]

[ Hei catches the anxiety in Pavel's tone. What will I do? Killing him is a null solution. So is re-erasing his mind, at this point. He could narrow out the boy's location. Corner and threaten him -- physically or otherwise. But that would just keep him on a resentful leash. He'd try to break away, any chance he got. This needs to be handled delicately, until a more long-term solution presents itself. ]


That depends on how cooperative you are. On how useful you can be.

[ He's a liability. He knows too much. But even liabilities can be expedient. You just have to know what buttons to push. ]
mortemscintilla: ∅  When I saw a shadow of a man creep out of sight (Hei - DimLightGrim)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 06:10 am (UTC)(link)
[ He seems so crestfallen as he says that word. Useful. Ironic. In the Syndicate, you're only kept alive if you're useful. You make allies who are useful. Absorb information that is useful. Surplus and superfluity are shorn off. Every operative serves as a weapon -- a tiny cog in an enormous, complex machine. Pavel should understand that aspect, at least. He's in a profession imbrued in rank and protocol. ]

[ His eyes calmly take in Pavel's face as he speaks. Keep your secrets safe. As if he has a choice in the matter. But let him think he does. Hei doesn't have to reveal everything to him. Like how closely he plans to monitor the boy. The wires and bugs he intends to plant. Little facets of a larger whole -- ensuring that this wildcard doesn't cost him the whole game. ]

[ (In a portion of his mind, there's a deadweight. He recognizes it as sadness. The regret that things had to come to this.) ]


I'll take your word for it. [ By which he means, No, I won't. He's as honest as the people he's learnt to deal with. Who aren't honest at all. ] But I prefer showing to telling.
mortemscintilla: ∅ The day was winding down and coming to an end (Hei - Grim Stare/Is that a zit?)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 07:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ In the arena of friendship, as in countless other spheres, Hei's and Pavel's experiences will diverge. If Hei had grown up in an environment beyond warfare, if his life wasn't forfeit to the Syndicate, he'd choose friends based on no reason but liking them as people. Hell, he'd be free to choose friends at all. Instead he'd taken the tour of a very different life -- steeped in cruelty and deceit -- with very different lessons for guides. ]

[ He can map the journey of Pavel's thoughts, with close observation. It's a game of I know You Know I know, similar in scope to how he's dealt with other Contractors. But different too. Not many were geniuses. Not many were people he enjoyed spending time with. But he won't let either factor sway him from self-preservation. If Pavel actually proves he's trustworthy, Hei won't know what to make of it. (Is he planning something? -- Is he playing an angle? ) His mind is wired primarily on paranoia and self-defense. It'd take a lot to make him relax and trust. ]

[ Provided he ever reaches that stage at all. ]


Threats are redundant. [ There's a bite of Don't ask stupid questions in his tone. ] You're smart enough to comprehend your situation. Hopefully smart enough to obey accordingly.

[ Because anything less is unacceptable. Because you aren't the first friend I'll be forced to harm, otherwise. And you won't be the last. He says all of that, but not in a way that shows in his body. Just a telltale chill that creeps through in his gaze. ]
mortemscintilla: ∅ (Hei - WorldWeary)

private // unhackable;

[personal profile] mortemscintilla 2013-01-25 08:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ Whatever Pavel might've seen -- a flicker of regret, maybe -- is gone a moment later. The coldness fades into a bland and impersonal mask. It's abrupt, like an electrical device with its plug pulled. Total flatline. But it's not deliberate. Just a reflexive wall against anything Hei is telegraphing. ]

I'll be watching.

[ In every sense of the word. While he can count on the tact or cunning of a professional, guarding against the spontaneity of a civilian is trickier. In some ways, he has to remain doubly vigilant. ]

[ He doesn't say any of that to Pavel. He simply terminates the connection. ]
Edited 2013-01-25 08:40 (UTC)