[Deleted]

Josie was looking through GenCorp stock options when it began. The entire morning, she had been trawling through Wall Street in a favored cafe of hers, analyzing the volatility of the economic giants, when the corporation abruptly dropped thirty points on the Dow; it wasn't unusual in of itself, except when it promptly regained them thirty seconds later. And then lost thirty points the same amount of time later. Then, Raajratna Metal repeated the exact same phenomenon. AT&T quickly followed suit. And then another. All of the companies, dropping by exactly thirty points, losing them, and regaining them over the same period of time. Quickly, Josie wrote the list down, determined to find the pattern of manipulation.

She didn't have to look far. As soon as she put them down on the napkin that came with her coffee in chronological order, it became clear.

G-R-A-M-E-R-C-Y

Gramercy Tavern. One of the most renowned restaurants in New York - and her favorite to frequent with her brother for special occasions. And if the time-span was anything to judge by, she had thirty minutes to get there. Without touching her keyboard, she pulled up Google Maps, and - yep. Whoever did this clearly knows what they're doing.

She snapped her laptop shut, and exited the building, and reached for a taxi cab service, half-submerging her head into the soup called Wi-Fi that permeated the shop. The brunette efficiently multi-tasked as she waited for her transportation, tracking the hacking back into San Francisco. If she remembered correctly, there was only two normals who could fit the bill - only rumors on a super who could pull it off.

As she exited the cab thirty minutes later, Josie was on her phone, looking through the cameras of the restaurant for anything unusual - anyone dressed oddly, with a particularly unusually competent bodyguard - when her eyes fell on someone of indeterminate gender in the back. Not only did they seem entirely inconspicuous, they wore a t-shirt and jeans, waving cheekily at her.

The military veteran standing at attention behind them proved a bit of a giveaway as well.

Confidently, she entered the restaurant, waving away the maitre'd and walked into the back, brown eyes locked on the pair as she stood in front of them.
"The real life wolf of Wall Street, I presume?"

Tags: Jack Fontaine , CBE-177/"Anna"
Notes: Actually a real life restaurant, and I hope this works for you guys!

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + @josephine + CBE-177/"Anna"

Jack rarely bothered with actually hacking the stock market, they much preferred to simply manipulate it as any stockbroker might, albeit on a much grander scale and with much less risk. It had seemed appropriate for this situation however. After all, things needed to be precise, and simply manipulating the stock market could not be as precise as necessary. People were so infuriatingly inefficient when responding to such drops. They were currently sat in a rather expensive restaurant. Jack was not a snob, but they had noted the preference that their current interest had in the place, and so it had seemed appropriate for a meeting. They were relatively out of place. For one, they were underdressed compared to the rest of the patrons. Though there were some here in jeans, there was no one else in a t-shirt, a t-shirt with a large childish slogan emblazoned on it no less. The Maître d' had looked ready to suggest they go elsewhere, when Jack had dropped a not insignificant roll of bills onto their lectern. The bills had disappeared as quickly as the man's complaints, and they had been shown to a table with an excellent view of the door. Jack had ordered a glass of spring water, and allowed Anna to order for herself. It had seemed sensible to bring the woman with them, though they weren't expecting any violence it would have been foolish not to come prepared. They spotted 'The Lady' as she entered. She wasn't particularly distinctive, but then no metahuman was. They were hoping that her mind might be another matter however. They waved them over. Smiling as they greeted their guest. "It's nice to meet you Lady, I'm Nobody."

© seadra of gs

[Deleted]

"Lovely to meet you, Polyphemus," She snarked on reflex. "Mind if I sit?"
Without waiting for permission - or a response to her Greek mythology reference - Josie perched herself on the seat opposite "Nobody", and took the opportunity to study them further as she waved David, her usual waiter, over. They knew her handle, which wasn't much of a surprise, but the fact that they were able to connect her to it intrigued her, to say the least. But they certainly looked the part of one of her colleagues, Josie thought as she ordered a glass of water, eyes on "Nobody" the entire time. Skinny, pale, with bright, intelligent eyes that took in everyone in the room, analyzed them, and dismissed them immediately.
The shirt rather ruined the effect, though. But it did score points with her for giving the elderly couple behind them apoplexy, if the camera footage in her mind's eye was any indication.
"If you don't mind my asking, Nobody," She asked, letting go of the cameras. "I am curious as to how and why you arrived at the appropriate manner of address for myself in person; most of my clients do prefer to conduct business through other means, and never see who the Lady is, for obvious reasons."
Discreetly, she began to fiddle with her necklace, activating the Wi-Fi emitter, and posted a request for information on the darknet for anyone bearing Nobody's image and alias.
"Furthermore," Josie added, gritting her teeth at the headache that came with multi-tasking. "Any client I do meet in person doesn't usually have an obvious bodyguard for protection. Do I look like I can take you?"

[CBE-177/"Anna"]

New York!

It was a city unlike any other, unlike any 177 had ever seen. Not even Moscow had matched it for bustle, for the density and height of buildings. The sheer speed of its movement was almost staggering. She found herself struggling to track faces in the crowd, a difficulty she had never experienced before. It made her edgy, suspicious, and she stuck closer to Jack than she ever had back home. It was to protect him, of course, but it was also because in this strangest of strange places he was the closest thing she had to a sturdy anchor. Another person might have wanted to see the attractions of the city, and perhaps for 177 that desire would come in time. For now, however, she was still reconciling herself to the bustle of the place, and found herself wishing to soon return home.

At least traffic in the restaurant was slower and more manageable. Within a few minutes of entering the restaurant, 177 had memorized the locations of the exits and customers and mentally marked the ones most likely to be dangerous in a fight. They were not here to deal with any of those people, of course. But it paid to be prepared.

Standing near Jack she declined to order anything, feeling it inappropriate while she was working. However unlikely violence was, she took her job seriously, and intended to be at maximum effectiveness at all times while working.

She spotted the woman- their real target- even before Jack waved her over. The woman's body language stood out from everyone else who had entered the restaurant; she wasn't here to eat, she was here for some other purpose. It was easy to guess what. As the woman walked towards them, 177 sized her up, checking for bulges where weapons might be concealed and searching for weak spots to exploit. It was clear to her within moments that the woman was not a melee fighter: her frame was slight, her bones thin, and her muscles unhardened by fighting. A single blow to the ribs would probably be fatal. Whatever power this woman had, it was in a realm other than the physical.

The woman- “Lady”- began to exchange words with Jack, the sort of round-the-tree nonsense that rich people spoke in when they wanted to feel special and intelligent. It was all useless posturing as far as 177 was concerned. Her eyes were on the restaurant. The movement of waiters, the glances of customers, the hands of the Lady across from her. One of the Lady's hands went to her necklace. It was a practiced movement, one intended to look like idle fiddling. But the muscles were all wrong for that; they were too tense, the tightening of the fingers too sure.

Her hand shot out in a flash, fingers closing over the necklace where the Lady clasped it. For a moment she held it, and held the Lady's gaze, face hard as adamant, expression tuned to communicate that the Lady was seen, and understood, and measured and found to be small in 177's sight. Understanding without warmth. Mouth hard as diamond. The slightest twist of contempt at the corners of her eyes.

She twisted her wrist, snapping the cord that held the necklace and pulling back her hand with another twist, trusting in her strength to make the act irresistible. She didn't know what the necklace was for, but that didn't matter. It was too small to be anything fatal other than perhaps poison, and since the Lady was unlikely to expose herself to poison at close range it was, at worst, intended to be added to food or drink. It didn't matter, really. She would present it to Jack and let him- no, them- draw their own conclusions.

Jack Fontaine
@josephine

[Deleted]

Much to Josie's shock, the bodyguard - whoever she was - snatched her wrist the moment she finished speaking, twisting it to force her to give up her necklace. The blonde woman briefly held her gaze, her face filled with disdain. Josie felt her lip curl, but nevertheless, made no attempt to take back her brother's gift. Whatever the reason Nobody had chosen her to guard them, it was clearly a physical ability, judging from the inherent strength in her grip. But was it innate? Or did it come from something else?

In this new age of gods and monsters, she wouldn't put anything past her adversary. Regardless, she still had to fight the urge to snatch the cross back like she was a child. She clenched her hands into white-knuckled fists, for all the good it would do her. If my estimations are correct, she could snap me in two without trying.

"It's not poison, or a weapon," Her voice was measured, belying the rage clouding her mind. Somewhere, some two-bit company's website was promptly ensnared in a tangle of code, wordless fury given shape. Quickly, she reminded herself that short of the bodyguard shattering the cross, she had the entire world a thought away. But let's not mention that, shall we?  "It's just something to help me control my ability. Not easy, having the Internet in one's head. I have no current intention of trying to kill someone with appreciation with such similar tastes in hobbies as myself."

After one last challenging glare to the blonde woman - and a last edit to her darknet request, with a mention of a bodyguard of a certain description - Josie turned her attention back to the - man? person? - the reason she had agreed to expose herself in the first place. This better be good, Polyphemus; otherwise, I am going Odysseus on your ass.

Jack Fontaine
CBE-177/"Anna"

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + @josephine + CBE-177/"Anna" + wearing

Jack quirked an eyebrow at the incorrect mythological reference. "You are aware that Odysseus was the one that went by the name Nobody, and Polyphemus his victim?" Jack shrugged, "I hadn't been to New York in a while, and this kind of activity is all so deliciously cloak and dagger. Much more fun than talking anonymously on some encrypted chatroom." It might concern some people to find out that fun was such a regular motivator in Jack's activities. They were perhaps the most intelligent person on the planet, and certainly capable of running things far more efficiently than they did. That said, where would the fun be in that? Jack was 17, and while they were more mature than most people their age, they intended to enjoy being young and immature for as long as they reasonably could. Then a good deal of time after that. They glanced down at their scrawny form after the bodyguard comment, then back up with a faint grin. "I'm fairly sure you could, hence the bodyguard. I'm not one for physical confrontation, which is why she is here." Almost on cue, 177 snatched the necklace from about the Lady's neck. They held out their hand as the small woman presented the jewellery to them, taking it and inspecting it carefully. It really was quite ingenious, some kind of transmitter, possibly Bluetooth but more likely WiFi considering the more ubiquitous use of such a signal. They placed it carefully on the table before them, resisting the urge to crack it open and inspect the insides. They doubted very much whether the device contained anything else within, it was far too small. Unless the Lady was capable of developments far beyond the scope of human invention like Jack was. Fortunately they confirmed that was not the case themselves a moment later. A technopath of some description then. Jack made a mental note never to introduce them to Erys, surely that wouldn't be a good combination. "I'm sure it's not, but Anna here would not be very good at her job if she just let you make use of it as freely as you are clearly used to." They reached over and picked up the salt shaker in the middle of the table, raising it above the small device, ready to bring it down and smash it to pieces. "You don't mind if I..?"

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[Deleted]

"Not if you value your electronic footprint," The threat was reflexive as Josie extended her hand out for her necklace, her eyes warily on "Anna". "My necklace was originally a gift from... someone I care for, one I will happily destroy your credit report for."

Then she took another look at them, and amended the thought, her tone mocking. "Or perhaps I'll just report you to Mummy and Daddy instead. Are you even old enough to taking a joyride out to the Big Apple?"

But before she could continue, the hacker stiffened as she felt results from her feeler download into her brain. And as the information kept coming, and the migraine continued to build, she became grateful for yet another little upgrade in her ear piece, helping her block out the useless as white noise. For a moment, she could only think in binary, as she processed everything ever electronically recorded about "Nobody".  He had done a good job, judging from a suspiciously clean record in places. Nothing she couldn't eventually pick apart, though, particularly considering his alias had garnered a mention or two from her colleagues. But his records...

In the Age of the Internet, it was rather difficult to hide everything. Particularly in institutions that lived and died by the sword of bureaucracy, and were so desperate to modernize; happily, it only gave people like her more fodder to work with.

The bodyguard wasn't quite so easy. Brushing aside the false documents with a mental wave of her hand, Josie found nothing. "Anna", whoever she was had just begun to exist barely half a year ago, fully formed. No birth certificate, no school report cards, records of appointments with a doctor for the chicken pox when she was six, nothing that signified her presence before June of 2018. It was if she had sprung into being fully formed.

I always did appreciate a good challenge, Josie thought as she checked the clock in Paris for the time. As always, the entire process had taken less than ten seconds.

Download completed, Josie finally completed her mockery of the apparent super-genius that sat before her. "Or perhaps, you asked your brother to look after you, Jack Fontaine."

Josie allowed a flicker of a smirk to cross her face before pressing her original point. "Now, I will ask you again, before I lose my patience: Why are you here?"

Jack Fontaine
CBE-177/"Anna"

[CBE-177/"Anna"]

The Lady was angry. There was no doubt of that. 177 took a perverse satisfaction in that; these sort of priviledged people always needed to be knocked down a peg or two. The Lady's eyes simmered; her face had barely contained rage. Still, it seemed unlikely she would try anything physical as long as 177 was there. She wasn't that stupid. 177 steeled her face to impassivity.

Something crossed the Lady's face, perhaps some sign she was using whatever her ability was. 177 didn't like that she might be doing that, but there was no way to stop it without hurting her, and it wasn't time for that yet.

Maybe later.

As the two bantered, 177 idly wondered where she fit into the Greek Mythology scheme. Achilles, maybe? Yes. She rather liked that designation. Not exactly part of their story, but someone with a story of her one, and a potent force for whatever side she threw in for.

Jack Fontaine
@josephine

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + @josephine + CBE-177/"Anna" + wearing

Jack smiled faintly at the woman's reaction to their brief question. So the necklace had monetary, sentimental, or utilitarian value. The information was filed away for later review, though it was about to be of use once more. "Do it, wouldn't take me long to manufacture a new one. Although I would consider it a favour if you refrain from doing so, it's five minutes out of my day I could use for something much more entertaining." They didn't doubt that she could follow through on her threat. Her hacking prowess was well known on the dark web, and a number of different hacks had been attributed to her. The comment on Jack's parents was not entirely unexpected, but it was surprising that she had done so without looking at a device. Perhaps the necklace housed some kind of WiFi connection. They felt their urge to investigate its innards increase. Presumably that was the reason for her sitting and staring at him for a solid nine seconds. Her power, if it was to interface with the internet, was potent, but she really should learn to hide the tells. Presumably she had been using the time to check the various documents on Jack and Nobody that she could find. Jack could only assume that time included checking on Anna as well. No doubt Josephine would dismiss those out of hand, which left Jack feeling somewhat underappreciated. After all, everything that the American Government held on Anna, from her State ID card, to her Birth Certificate, to her Social Security Number was technically genuine. It had been difficult when Jack had originally hacked their way into those systems, but it was easy enough now to produce identities that were one hundred percent real, albeit with the minor flaw of containing entirely false information. The reference to their brother however, caught them off guard. Their face was unguarded for a fraction of a second, the emotions that flashed across it too quick and too complex to catch. Their brother was a sore spot. Josie smirked, and Jack suppressed the ire at her apparent belief that she had the upper hand. If she was indeed as potent a technopath as she appeared then no doubt she could outhack Jack over the short term. Nonetheless her threats did not worry the young genius. They were always such a crude way of dealing with business. They sighed dramatically, raising a hand to beckon the watchful waiter over. "You are just no fun at all." The waiter arrived before Josie could respond. "Yes, the Seafood Tower please. Do you want anything?" This question was offhandedly offered to Josie, as though Jack had only just remembered their presence.

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[Deleted]

And here I thought it would be all business. Mx Fontaine is proving to be quite the manipulator; I'm almost impressed.

"The Creek Oysters, if you please," But Josie's attention was not on the waiter but rather on the person in front of her. She had no doubt he had divined the purpose of the cross, as well as the lifeblood of her ability. Sadly, her tells had proved rather stubborn to be rid of, short of someone to cover for her in public. Their tells, though, were definitely there. They were good, but their brother was a clear sore spot. Something to file away for later. The current question was, what they would do with the information? "I tend to keep business and fun separate, Jack. This, sadly, is proving the former."

Thankfully, her temper passed quickly - a perk of having the world to work out her feelings on - and she switched tacks from threats. It had been a hasty tactic, anyway, and doubtless one that would bite her later. They were clearly here to judge her, most likely to see if she was what her reputation claimed - possibly for a long-term job, if they were bothering to come out to New York. They, also, much to her amusement, believed themselves the better hacker if his track record and current body language was any indication.

 It would prove a nice change of pace, she mused, with Nobody as an adversary or ally. Certainly wouldn't be dull; of course, the bodyguard would have to be dealt with, one way or another. Not to be underestimated, as her  bruising wrist could attest to.

"But, it would seem that we have gotten off on the wrong foot," Josie did not bother attempting to sound contrite; everyone there knew she would be lying anyway. Both of them had far too high an opinion of themselves for anything else. "I would not trust you with my bots, and I rather suspect your bodyguard is planning my bloody murder as I speak. Which, to be honest, matters little in our profession, as long as you and I trust each other not to eviscerate one another. So, either you cut to why you wanted to see me - and it must be something, to fly here from San Francisco -  and tell me what it is you want, or I take my oysters and leave."

Josie leaned back in her chair, and studied the genius. One way or another, she would be done with this.

Jack Fontaine
CBE-177/"Anna"

Josie's outfit

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + @josephine + wearing

Jack glanced towards Anna to see if she wanted anything, after it became clear that the woman was either not hungry or not willing to eat while her charge was potentially in danger they turned back and dismissed the waiter. The cross was still on the table, resting beside Jack's hand, and while no doubt Josephine could interface with it without contact, it still gave them a little power in this moment. "I would say it's an age thing, but my sister is just like you as well, and she was long before she was able to drink." Clearly she wasn't much for patience, and once again Jack noted that information down for later. It could perhaps become an issue further down the line, after all, Jack was more interested in having her as an asset than an enemy. It seemed that her mind was processing much the same idea, as she spoke next. Not that she pretended to sound apologetic or anything. It was making the game far less fun, though it was probably for the best. Jack looked briefly towards Anna, then back at Josephine with a faint smile on their face, "she's never been much for planning, and I doubt it would require all that much anyway. She's what I would call a scary lady. Besides, tearing you limb from limb would really put a crimp in the day. She's never visited New York before. "As to why I'm here, really, I don't get out much, and I took the chance when it presented itself, plus," they leaned forward, "It's refreshing to meet someone at least close to my level, as I'm sure you can guess, it doesn't happen very often." They traced their spindly fingers around the glass idly, "Have you heard of RISE?"

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[Deleted]

"It is rather rare to meet a kindred spirit, particularly when many of humanity prove to be quite dull," Josie agreed, even as her mind raced over the implications of RISE being involved. A rather shady group, to say the least, she remembered from what little there was known. She had yet to directly interact with them, but knew people who had been involved - much to their detriment. She said as much to Jack.

"A colleague of mine suffered at their hands - their niece," She clarified. "A hydrokinetic, apparently. They requested my help in retrieving her, and I helped... clear the way. Currently, I believe the two of them are on the run. Presumably, you want to recruit me to work against them, seeing as I'm rather outside their age limit for normal kidnappings."

As she carefully watched Jack for a response, Josie couldn't help but wonder if all of this had to anything do with their family. There was nothing connecting them and the organization, but such hatred and anger at the mere mention of them, combined with this...

And here I thought I'd have a quiet week.

Quietly, she sent out feelers to the aforementioned colleague on the run. Wherever they were, they certainly had Wi-Fi, and two hackers was better than one, especially with such a well-hidden entity. As long as adequate payment was involved, of course. She wasn't a moron, and Henry was going in for therapy in two weeks.

Jack Fontaine
CBE-177/"Anna"

[Jack Fontaine]

Nobody Don't you know who I think I am? + @josephine + CBE-177/"Anna" + wearing

If only the technopath had any idea. Jack had spent their entire life around people that were dwarfed by their intellect, as a child they had been capable of maintaining conversations with seasoned academics, and had put most of them to shame before their 13th birthday. Interestingly the rate of Jack's development had seemed only to increase once they hit puberty, and they had a number of theories on whether it would halt or simply slow down once their body finished growing. The attitude of the Families to metahumans like Jack meant there wasn't an awful lot of early documentation on powers similar to theirs. Josephine would at least provide some stimulation before inevitably she too fell by the wayside. It would be nice to have some equal conversation for a change. "I'm impressed that you have made the connection, from what I can gather they are operating on a cell basis, with only a few people at the top understanding what is truly going on. I only have a rough idea of how they are picking their targets, but if it's what I think it is then it doesn't bode well." They shrugged, "I rarely operate on this side of the country, it would be more convenient for me to have an ally on the East Coast than to interfere directly in their operations myself. I can't simply fly out here whenever business requires it, and they seem relatively low level for now, so my direct attention may not be needed until they grow more active." They had been careful to phrase it as an ally. In truth Jack didn't have friends; they didn't really have people they trusted. Anna might be their bodyguard, but they knew that eventually she would turn on them, and they had already laid a number of plans in place. "Of course I wouldn't expect you to do it for free, although judging by your activities in the stock markets I imagine money isn't all that much of a problem for you. Nonetheless a generous sum will be deposited into the account of your choice. Untraceable of course. Beyond that, I can offer you more than money. I can offer you brief access to my designs." This likely wouldn't be all that interesting until Josephine looked up some of their previous work. Anything accessible right now would be simplistic in comparison to what Jack was currently capable of manufacturing, but once she saw the dates on those designs she might be interested. It was a pity that nobody had ever discovered the true origin of Cryptolocker. Demonstrating that they had achieved Singularity more than four years ago would surely convince the technopath that the offer was a good one. They had brought something else just in case she required more convincing, and they now placed a small flash drive on the table. It contained fragments of a design, enough to demonstrate just how far ahead it was, but not enough that it could be built, and without Jack's power, reverse engineering it would be impossible. Even for someone as smart as Josephine. "Consider this a taste." They turned briefly to Anna, talking quietly enough that Josephine would not be able to overhear. "What do you think? Do you trust her?"

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[Deleted]

Josie cautiously took the flash drive in hand, only to almost drop it as the barest hints of a design flashed through her head; she then tightened her grip on the flashdrive, her mind whirling as she reviewed the facts in light of their... intriguing offer. She didn't know nearly as much as she would like about Fontaine's work - though that would change in a moment - but she, like most who made their living the dark net, knew Nobody's reputation. Hardly flashy, and they had never been conclusively linked with anything big, but the rumors were there, and she knew better than to underestimate someone with such clear signs of a high intelligence driving them.

Possibly enhanced as well, if the brilliance of this design is any indication.

Without access to her own tools and minions, as well as possibly a large container of coffee, she doubted she would stand a chance of gaining anything from it. And the flashdrive, of course. While she didn't doubt her eidetic memory, there were simply things you couldn't reconstruct from memories when it came to tech designs. She chanced another glance at the person, who was now quietly speaking with their bodyguard, "Anna", doubtless about the odds of her going AWOL where they were concerned, if she agreed to the offer. Internally, she couldn't help but scoff. Her decision was made - there was simply too much she could gain - and she didn't betray her allies.

Well, most of the time.

Only when it suited her priorities. Nine times out of ten it did suit her to trust. Trust was a valuable commodity, one Josie could hardly measure with the stock market (well, she probably could, but that was beside the point -), and she had seen what happened to those who stabbed a hacker in the back. Hell, people had attempted to stab her in the back before; it had ended as well as could be expected for them.

Idly, Josie couldn't help but wonder if the Mongolians had ever found what was left of them.

"You interest me, Jack," The brunette mused in her answer to the genius. "I will take up the offer as your ally and your designs, with two conditions. You give me what you know about RISE, to ensure I don't encounter any... surprises, shall we say. I will, of course, return the favor," That both of them would wind up withholding information went unsaid.

"Lastly, I always reserve the right to withdraw," Josie said quietly, her gaze flinty. "I have assets I wish to protect, as you have yours. RISE may prove a threat to our kind-" Which kind she was referring to was up for debate- "But anyone who challenges me on my own territory does so at their own risk."

If it sounded a little arrogant, Josephine quite frankly didn't care. There was a reason she was called the Lady, after all.


Jack Fontaine
CBE-177/"Anna"

[CBE-177/"Anna"]

She sat, as she always did, silently listening as people whose throats could bring forth speech went back and forth. Banter. It was a mode of interaction she was forever cut off from.

She rarely devoted much time to thinking about her limitation, but as she listened to Jack and the Lady she felt a strange, distant sense of loss. Despite their antagonism, there was a bond between them that was created by sharing words, a joint world where their minds met and left her outside.

For a moment, she let her mind drift. The worst part about lacking speech wasn't the hinderence to communication- it was the way it made others think of her as a fool. Matsushita's face suddenly loomed large in her mind, a memory rising unbidden: a time one of the men had tried to take her as a woman, and she had bitten him, wounding him deeply in the manhood. The man had been angry. Matsushita had laughed. "It happened because you are a fool," he said, gesturing at the man's injury. "Would you ask a dog for that?"

And he had pointed, pointed at where she slumped chained. She remembered that, the shape of his long finger, the curved nail. The expression behind it, knowing and contemptuous. "Look at it! You look and you see the shape of a woman, a human figure- but an appearance only! Look closer. See the sharpened teeth, the nails like claws, strength like a gorilla! See in the eyes, the incocate rage of the rabid beast! The mouth and throat with no power of speech!" He dropped his arm, and shook his head. "Not a human woman. A creature, no more." He had looked at the injured man, and smiled. "If creatures are to your taste, you may take your pick at the kennels."

For a moment, the memory held her. Then with an effort she pushed it from her mind and brought herself back to the present. She sat still. The only sign of the memory had been a slight increase in her breathing. All else was the same. Jack was mentioning something called RISE. She focused her gaze on the Lady again, searching for signs of threat or malice. There was nothing.

Jack turned to her, exploiting her enhanced hearing for a whispered question. Below the table, 177 rocked her hand back and forth in a "so-so" gesture. She didn't think the Lady had any plans for immediate betrayal, but she had no doubt that the Lady would do so the moment she saw a chance to benefit. Then again, she'd describe Jack in the same way.

Quite a pair, these two, she thought wryly. They were made for each other. If they went on like this long enough, perhaps they'd marry each other. She allowed herself a tiny smile of amusement at the thought.

Jack Fontaine
@josephine