Summary:Peter Parker is called in for an interview…and an offer. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
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Kane Towers is an example of true urban development. Many stories of reinforced windows, gleaminng walls, and lage high sped elevators unning up its length. Offices on top of offices and a security guard near the door who apparently doubles as a greeter. A tall, lithe redheaded woman in a black skirt suit will be waiting near the door when Peter arrives. Her expression tends toward being a bit severe, but there's no anger or malice in her. Instead, the body language smacks of military precision. People are going in all directions, but the rotunda this side of the elevator banks isn't /too/ busy. Plenty of space. Still, it's a prosperous business and everyone has work to do. No one's just lounging around. Which makes the six foot tall redheaded ex-marine that much more obvious and imposing.
Peter is late by about five minutes. He would have made it on time, but there were these bank robbers, and…well…he'll just tell her the subway was delayed.
He hustles across the street, slacks dusted with brick dust, and he slaps at them as he heads to the door. Kane Towers. Yikes.
He pauses near the door, then smiles sheepishly. "Uhm, I don't need to have a car parked. Thanks, though." Wow, these valet people were INTENSE.
The door is opened for Peter and he's allowed inside to where the tall, regally featured redheaded woman is dominating the available space despite the sweeping domed ceilings. She'll smile faintly when the teen emerges and offer him a nod. "You must be Mr. Parker. Hello. My name is Katherine Kane. I hope you found everything alright. Shall we head up?"
Kate will gesture to one of the tall, glass and chromed elevators in the next bank and, upon acknowledgment, turn to lead the way. She isn't much for wasting time, obviously. "You seem a little uncomfortable. I had to work in today or I'd've come to see you instead. But relax. It's just an interview."
Peter looks a little unsure as he rubbernecks around. "Uhm…yeah, it was a little out of nowhere. Sorry, I just…wow, is that marble?"
He follows Kate, trotting a little to keep up. His backpack bounces slightly as he does, and he tries not to jostle it too much. "I'm…a little unsure about what this interview is about, basically. Can you draw me a few pictures?"
"Marble facade," Kate replies drily. "Though the decorator would kill me for admitting it." So yes, it's at least partially marble. Kate will summon the elevatore and once inside there's a soft hum as they accelerate upward. Far faster and more smoothly than most elevators. Of course, it also has further to go.
"Well. Your name was submitted for a scholarship opportunity from Kane Industries for…" A beat. "Let's say, geniuses with difficult home situations. We usually look for people who are struggling with their homelife but have enormous potential. Someone who can be inspirational. A character witness. It turns out Elizabeth Brant was very adamant about it on your behalf. And… Here we are."
Kate will offer a brief smile, tilting her head slightly as she considers the young man in front of her. "It *is* rather abrupt. The selection process was- delayed. I apologize. But the first question, I suppose. I'm obligated to ask about your academic goals. What do you want to be when you're done with your education, Mr. Parker?"
Peter is a little gobsmacked. Miss Brant? Yikes. Who knew?
He looked around at the elevators, and he can see the nervousness in his own face. Great. "Well, I was interested in neuroscience. Reconstructive medical procedures, prosthetic-cybernetic interfaces. My Aunt has been dealing with a sore hip and I have been pondering this hip-replacement design. Something longer-lasting than the current models, maybe with muscle-assist built-in…"
"That sounds wonderful," Kate will reply to Pete's suggestion. "When I was in themilitary a lot of us could have used devices like that. Cybernetic interfaces are a difficult field to address. There have been complications with some of the current models. Anyway… You really care a lot about your Aunt… May Parker, is the right?"
The doors slide open and Kate will rpoceed, with perfect posture, into the room on the other side. It's an alcove for a secretary's desk (currently empty) and beyond it, an office labeled, "Katherine Kane" with no qualifiers on it whatsoever. Kate will hold the door for Pete. Other than the expensive desk, the view of the city from twenty stories up from the huge window at the back of the room, and the living potted plant in a corner it's really an ofice. A large office, with plenty of file folders to in the back to help 'justify' it's slightly extravagant existence.
Even the guest chairs are nice. Maybe leather
Peter stops and gapes. He can't help it. He should have done more research on them, but the fair is next week…
Okay. Calm down. Okay, that explains the perfect stance. Hope this wasn't some kind of outfit like Blackwater…
He wanders around while stepping in, but looks out at the city. What must it be like to have a view like this, every day? Without someone yelling at you to get off their window, anyway…"Well, she's the only family I have left. My parents left when I was six…and my Uncle Ben was killed a year and a half ago, so she is all I have left. I'm kinda all she has left, too."
The parents, Richard and Mary Parker. Queries stopped at a CIA firewall. The uncle was easier. Ben Parker. Two tours in Vietnam. Purple Heart. Silver Star. Married to May for 50 years.
"I'm sorry for your loss. Your uncle was a good man. My father never met him but he knew of him. THey served at the same time," Kate will reply sincerely. After a second she adds, "Your dedication to your aunt is commendable. I take it that's why you're looking at a local university instead of someplace like MIT…? Your scores could take you basically anywhere, you know. I wanted to ask you. Is Metropolis really where you wanted to go?"
After a second Kate will continue, "But maybe some background would be good. I started this scholarship because I know… Something of what it's like. I lost my mother when I was young, and lost contact with my sister. My father was in the military so for a bit it was- just me, really. I understand having to struggle. And I don't think it should be a roadblock that stops the rest of your life." The qualfiied spiel!
KAte clearly doesn't do many of these interviews. "But… School. Why Metropolis U?"
"I'm sorry for your loss. Your uncle was a good man. My father never met him but he knew of him. THey served at the same time," Kate will reply sincerely. After a second she adds, "Your dedication to your aunt is commendable. I take it that's why you're looking at a local university instead of someplace like MIT…? Your scores could take you basically anywhere, you know. I wanted to ask you. Is Empire State really where you wanted to go?"
After a second Kate will continue, "But maybe some background would be good. I started this scholarship because I know… Something of what it's like. I lost my mother when I was young, and lost contact with my sister. My father was in the military so for a bit it was- just me, really. I understand having to struggle. And I don't think it should be a roadblock that stops the rest of your life." The qualfiied spiel!
KAte clearly doesn't do many of these interviews. "But… School. Why ESU? Not that I have anything against the school, mind."
Peter looked at her. He hasn't sit down yet, and he tenses for a microsecond before relaxing again.
"Aunt May has nobody to take care of her. Uncle Ben's pension was a pittance back in the 70's. If I leave New York, she'll have no one to look after her.'
It's his fault, it's ALL HIS FAULT…
Peter gives just a little shiver, then sighs. "What else can I do? Anyway, ESU has a pretty decent science program, They have the Vault where some companies run some concepts in a secured area, and I can do undergrad work there. And I can take the subway to school, and if I win the science fair in a week or so, Dr. Connors says I can get approved AND a scholarhip. It's only $5,000, but I can do work-study, and hand on to my job at the BUGLE…"
Kate nods slowly, listening to everything Peter has to say in a measured way. She circles the desk but remains standing. "Please. Go ahead and sit down." She takes a deep breath as she does, watching Pete carefully across the desk.
"There's a lot else you could do. No one is forcing you to stay and take care of your aunt," Kate replies seriously. "That is all you. Dedication. Service. Filial fidelity. Honor. Those are traits that we choose for ourselves, not ones we're forced into." She purses her red lips faintly and gives a quick nod.
"That's a good plan. You should do that," the woman agrees immediately. "Win the Science Fair. I know you can manage. ,000 scholarship will go a long way for you." Kate is now producing a tablet from a drawer on her desk. She's writing something out across the screen with a nimble finger. "Does the Bugle pay enough for your Aunt May's expenses? Medical…?"
Peter looks at Kate, then looks down at the chair before dropping into it. "No…no, the VA handles it. At cost. When I've also been…" Paying for it… "…helping her with it." He fidgets a little. "I'm legally an independent contractor. No medical insurance. I…I'm just lucky I haven't gotten seriously sick, but flu season is coming up…so I may have to work sick."
"Well, it sounds like you've been working really hard to get this far. And you think you can make things work,, with a work study and the scholarship starting?" Kate asks in that even tone she seems to prefer, studying Peter's reactions. "Good luck in that endeavour, Mr. Parker." She seems to sincerely mean it, at least.
"I really have one more question. You answered most of this in the paperwork I sent you, but still. What do you hope to do? Not- your job. Cybernetics is an amazing field with loads of applications. But what are you hoping to get out of it? What do you, Peter Benjamin Parker, want to accomplish?"
Kate picks up a something off the desk. It looks like it's a school trophy for softball, of all things. She looks at it for a moment while she waits for that answer.
Peter looks at her for a long moment.
"I want to make something that is going to make life better for other people. I want to make the next artificial heart, the next physical-therapy advancement. I want to look outside and watch a man walk to the park because of something I made that allowed him to live again."
Kate will let that rest with a certain air of finality before giving a slow nod. She is staring at Peter, taking the measure of the young man in front of her at the moment in which he shows his pride and not his weakness or anxiety. She watches carefully before giving a slow nod.
"I have a proposal for you. Take on that science fair. Get your scholarship. And when you graduate I'd like you to report for a work study program with the Kane Industries cybernetics lab. We do a lot of work to help injured veterans that carries over into civilian medical fields. As long as you're in the program and- show up-" Kate lifts a finger at that, acknowledging the obvious deficits in that area.
"As long as you keep up with the program Kane Industries will guarantee your scholarship to Empire State. Or anywhere else you want to go. You won't be required to work for us after school, but if you get that far there will be a position for you here."
Then Kate adds more quietly. "You know. Colonel Kane could use a prosthesis like that."
Hoo boy. Showing up. Well…he can do the best he can on that note. Maybe he'll last six months before He has to stop Electro and it will cost him this scholarship…
First things first. Win the science fair or all of this is (ha-ha) academic.
He looks to her, then says, "Well, if you can provide his file or what he is dealing with, I can take a look at the problem, see what can be done. If you like the design, I can see if it can be fabricated. And if it can…then, well, we'll see what can be done, right?"
"He won't accept it if we single it out. You'll just have to make a working model someday," Kate replies with a bit of a smile. "And if you have attendance issues—- we'll work it out. Semper fidelis, Mr. Parker. Follow what you know is right." Kate will come to her feet then.
"Good luck. Do you have any questions?" Kate will offer Peter a hand.
Peter stood, then took the hand in his own. Firm, but she doesn't need to exert much to get the upper hand. "Why me? There are a thousand people with better backgrounds, more reliable, more dependable. So why rick thousands on me?"
Kate doesn't really try to get the upper hand on Peter, but her grip is phenomenal for a normal person. She can show that off without really exerting it. Not that she'd hurt Peter, but she doesn't know that. "Seven hundred forty-one," Kate replies. "Other potential candidates. Most people who have other prospects. Or aren't in the right field… But really, Mr. Parker. I like you. I have the utmost respect for your Uncle Ben. And I admire your commitment to your family. I want to see you succeed. If you really think the others are more deserving… I guess you'd better make it work."